Professional Pilot, June 2019

locations particularly airports in the vicinity of popular game parks overnight parking may not be obtainable MQP Kruger Mpumalanga Intl South Africa and SZK Skukuza South Africa can be difficult to secure overnight parking during high season so you may need to drop go and reposition says UAS Regional Mgr Africa Kegan Govender MQP for example only has parking available for 3 or 4 larger jets and this fills up Fuel and credit Fuel shortages and associated credit issues occur in both Nigeria and Zimbabwe so its important to confirm and reconfirm fuel availability prior to the day of operation Nigeria does not refine jet fuel in country so it can take a week or more to move fuel from the seaport to airports says LeDuc We recommend at least partially fueling on arrival so you have enough fuel to get to another airport ISPs say that fuel credit can also be an issue Its important to ensure that the fueler with whom you have a contract is the one actually doing the fueling Someone may send a different fuel truck tied to a different company and try to delay you into accepting alternate fueling says Fuller Stay on top of the situation as you may be cornered into using different more expensive suppliers 40 PROFESSIONAL PILOT June 2019 If you can help it its usually best to try to avoid tech stops in the interior of Africa Leathem notes that some countries restrict GA technical fuel uplifts from time to time The logistics of delivering fuel to airports can result in fuel shortages and delays Allow plenty of lead time for fuel uplift requests send a copy of the fuel release to your local handler have credit established and have contingency plans in place in case anything go wrong Fuller points out that you may have to fight to get what you may be expecting You might for example have a green light for a fuel uplift in Nigeria but things may not work out on the day of operation he says You could at times have to fight with your suppliers in order to make them honor your original setup and fuel release terms Secondary airports When operating to smaller and or secondary airports in many parts of Africa there are additional considerations to be mindful of Ground support services and ground support equipment GSE may be limited there may be communication issues and language barriers to consider and security both on and off airport could well be a major checklist item Youll need to consider and pre plan local transport accommodation and catering At MQP for example normal airport hours are 0700 1900 local with customs clearance only upon request Airport and customs immigration overtime can be arranged at MQP but 24 to 48 hours lead time is needed for this says Govender For RON purposes be careful when considering hotels as well as transport options between the hotel and the airport In some cases there may only be a couple of 4 star hotel options available and they could be some distance from the airport says Fuller Staying close to the airport is often preferred due to disorganization of traffic in many cities and between cities and airports Its import DSS Blaise Diagne Intl Dakar Senegal Some countries in Africa share FIRs Senegals FIR covers multiple countries including Mali Mauritania and Ivory Coast However operators may need more than 1 permit per country ACC Accra Ghana is a popular destination and tech stop in west Africa Service here is efficient and larger bizjets can take advantage of the 3400 meter long 11155 ft runway available here