Who's controls Africa

[Desk Driver]

I've just come back from JNB as Self Loading Freight and I have 2 questions

1) It occured to me that there can't be much Radar coverage over Africa especially the Sahara. So, is airspace controlled on a track system like the north atlantic and if so whats the African alternative to "Shanwick?"

2) A colleague of mine recons during South Africa's aphartied times none of SAA's flights were allowed to operate over other parts of Africa and had to route up the atlantic. He recond that they owned an island which they used soley for refuelling. I thought he might be getting confused with SID where they refuel before trecking over to the US.

Can anybody confirm.

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You fly em we'll fill em!

[Boss Raptor]

The island in question is Sal in the Cap Verde Islands...much of the oceanic airspace in that area is more or less uncontrolled in real terms with at most procedural information service provided by the en-route FIR's on HF...as for cross country that is all controlled, again usually on a procedural control basis. As far as I am aware there is only radar cover in S. African FIR/UIR's and Harare,Nairobi,Lagos,Accra,Abidjan and Dakar terminal areas...there are FIR/UIR Control centres and Airways just as in Europe...

[This message has been edited by Boss Raptor (edited 06 February 2001).]

[MileHi]

Having flown extensively over the continent I can confidently say that there is very little control, North of the Limpopo its mostly HF comms. Due to lack of Radar "Fly-by-night" operators often do not make the necessary radio calls to avoid overflight clearance charges etc. They also keep their lights and transponders off.

In short, its a do-it-yourself senario on 126.9 But hey, that Africa!