■ SOUTH AFRICA: Gauteng calls for study on potential new international airport for Johannesburg as part of 25-Year Transport Plan.

The Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Dr Ismail Vadi, this week released the "25-Year Integrated Transport Master Plan (ITMP25)" for Ekurhuleni, the local authority and government for Gauteng, South Africa's former East Rand area, to ensure province-wide mobility in future for all residents. The 25 year plan, developed by an inter-disciplinary team of experts led by Gautrain CEO Jack van der Merwe, provides an assessment of the current transport and land-use challenges. It also forecasts economic and population growth scenarios, which have been used to plan the future transport needs and solutions in the province. Pertaining to aviation, the Plan states that OR  Tambo  International  Airport  will  remain the main airport serving Gauteng and South Africa but notes that "a thorough study should be done to determine the feasibility and, if found necessary, land should be reserved to develop a second major airport in Gauteng which can accommodate wide body aircraft up to and including the A380."

► ZAMBIA: Proflight mulls expansion into Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, the DRC and Zimbabwe.

With the recent launch of its first regional flights to Lilongwe, Malawi, Proflight Zambia (P0) is mulling adding three further international destinations to its growing network by mid-2014, effectively making Lusaka a regional hub for air travel.

► SOUTH AFRICA: Cirrus light aircraft crashes just outside Johannesburg Lanseria Airport; 2 dead.

Two people were killed yesterday morning when their Cirrus SR-20 (ZS-CAP) light aircraft crashed after take off from Johannesburg's Lanseria International Airport. According to the South African Press Association, a Lanseria spokeswoman has stated that the "plane left the airport and appeared to be trying to return when it crashed on open land outside the airport."

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Bombardier sets up a Regional Support Office and Parts Depot in Johannesburg.

Canadian aircraft manufacturer, Bombardier Aerospace, has opened a new Regional Support Office (RSO) and parts depot in Johannesburg, South Africa. The office and depot will anchor regional support capabilities for Bombardier business and commercial aircraft customers in Africa. Both the Johannesburg RSO and parts depot are co-located at Bombardier’s Business Aircraft Authorized Service Facility (ASF) at ExecuJet South Africa’s facility at Johannesburg's Lanseria Airport. It will be the 11th parts facility in Bombardier’s network.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Competition Tribunal okays acquisition of Lanseria Airport, but with conditions attached.

South Africa's Competition Tribunal has approved the proposed acquisition of Johannesburg's Lanseria International Airport near Johannesburg by black economic empowerment company Holdco though conditions have been imposed on the deal.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: NAC certified to Gold BARS standard by FlightSafety Foundation.

South Africa's  National Airways Corporation has announced it has become the first aircraft operator in the world to receive Gold BARS status from the FlightSafety Foundation following the successful completion of three annual audits.

►► BOTSWANA: Air Botswana officially announce new destinations; new timetables loaded.

[UPDATE 03 APRIL 2013]  Following on from our previous post on the topic, Air Botswana (BP) have announced their new updated timetable with new destinations including Johannesburg (Lanseria), Cape Town,  Nairobi (Kenya), Lilongwe, Blantyre (Malawi) and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) as new destinations from the Batswana carrier's hub, Gaborone. Lusaka, Zambia will also see a third extra Wednesday frequency served in tandem to Lilongwe, Malawi which will receive a twice weekly service (one direct and the other via Lusaka.)

► ZIMBABWE: China Sonangol denies its A320 being used for diamond smuggling.

China Sonangol, the joint venture between the Hong Kong based China International Fund (or the 88 Queensway group) and Angola's state-owned oil company Sonangol, has denied a report by whistle-blower site, 100Reporters, alleging that its Airbus A319 (MSN 2706 | VP-BEX) was being used to "smuggle" diamonds from Zimbabwe's controversial Marange diamond fields.

► SOUTH AFRICA: Fly Go-Air delays launch until 10 December, to use a Beech 1900.

South African start-up Fly Go-Air (KEM) has announced that it will now launch operations on Monday 10 December with its debut route still to be Johannesburg Lanseria airport to Kruger/Mpumulanga International Airport.

► ANGOLA: See Pic of Guicango's Embraer 120 in new company colours!

Angolan private carrier Guicango Agência de Viagem (NCL) has had its first non-Russian aircraft - an Embraer 120 (MSN: 120212 | D2-FFZ) painted in the company's new livery and corporate identity.

■■ MOZAMBIQUE: Search for missing South African pilots to end Friday.

[UPDATED 20 NOVEMBER 2012] The search for two South African pilots who went missing on 27 October as they flew home to South Africa is to be called off Friday. 

Bryan Simms, 60, and his son Robert, 22, from Midrand, Johannesburg, were flying back to Lanseria airport, Johannesburg in a Beechcraft Baron 58 (MSN TH-737 | ZS-JPG). They had departed Lilongwe, Malawi en route to Lanseria when contact was lost around 45 minutes from Beira airport, Mozambique.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Johannesburg's Lanseria Airport sold to Harith, BEE consortium.

Johannesburg's Lanseria International Airport has been sold to a consortium of investors, it has been announced. The consortium consists of Harith, an infrastructure development fund management company and a Black Economic Empowerment consortium which includes the women's empowerment company Nozala; and the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF), through the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).

► SOUTH AFRICA: Fly Go-Air to launch Lanseria - Mpumulanga on 25 November using CRJ-100s.

As the dust has yet to settle following the demise of South African LCC, 1Time (T6), so start-up Fly Go-Air (KEM) has announced that it will launch operations on Sunday 25 November with 6x weekly flights between Johannesburg's Lanseria airport and Kruger/Mpumulanga International Airport; its website is now "live".

► SOUTH AFRICA: Fly Go-Air to finally start ops in November?

Fly Go-Air, the off and on again, niche carrier aimed at the premium market in South Africa, has announced it will launch operations in late November from its hub at Johannesburg's Lanseria Airport to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport with plans to start Polokwane and Pietermaritzburg in January. In the near future, the airline is also considering flights to Bloemfontein and George and from KMIA to Cape Town.

► BOTSWANA: Air Botswana planning Nairobi, Lilongwe, Blantyre, Cape Town, Lanseria flights from October onwards?

Reliable Zimbabwean aviation blog, Harare Airport Blogger, is reporting that Botswana's national carrier, Air Botswana (BP), is planning to launch various new regional routes with effect from 28 October 2012, though these reports have not yet officially been confirmed by Air Botswana itself.

► SOUTH AFRICA: 1Time drops Lanseria Airport hub.

South African LCC 1Time (T6) has announced that it is to cease its Lanseria Airport operations with effect from 2 June 2012, in order to better focus and consolidate its domestic and regional services out of Oliver Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg's largest airport.

1Time McDonnell Douglas MD-83 at Johannesburg.

1time Airline CEO, Blacky Komani says that the retraction of the Lanseria routes was motivated by a decision to optimise its overall operations.

“We have taken the decision to consolidate all our local and regional flights from OR Tambo International Airport and concentrate on our African projects that are currently underway. Pending seasonal demand, and commercial viability of the airport, we may look at reviewing our Lanseria services in the future.”

 Read More Here [IOL South Africa]

The axing of Lanseria comes at a difficult financial time for 1Time, who recently went through a particularly rough patch whereby it posted losses amounting to USD$17million for 2011, followed by the resignation of its then CEO Rodney James.