The only airline providing commercial flights to Plettenberg Bay has suspended its operations. CemAir has halted flights between Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay and reduced services between Johannesburg and Plettenberg Bay due to infrastructure issues at Plettenberg Bay Airport. In September 2021, the airport was downgraded to category 2, falling below the SACAA's minimum standard for scheduled air services.
However, with CemAir's assistance, the airport regained Category 4 status by November 2021, allowing two-hour flights between Johannesburg and Plettenberg Bay to resume. Now, the airport has once again failed to meet SACAA standards, creating uncertain conditions for CemAir’s scheduled services. On 1 July, Garden Route Aero (GRA), a subsidiary of rsa.
AREO (which manages the Winelands Airport in Cape Town), was set to take over operations from Bitou Municipality. On 9 July, GRA announced the transition was in progress, but issues soon surfaced. “During, and as part of, the handover process, technical experts, engineers, and the South African Civil Aviation Authority have raised observations of structural deterioration in the runway,” stated Bitou Municipality and GRA in a joint announcement.
The Knysna-Plett Herald reported that the SACAA had issued a notice on 27 June for the runway at Plettenberg Bay Airport to be investigated due to safety concerns. The joint statement continued: "Pavement specialists are required to conduct a detailed assessment of the pavement inf.