Pretoria - The South African Air Force (SAAF) has since the beginning of the World Cup managed to successfully secure all airspaces around match venues.
To date, 12 621 aircrew members have been screened and 51 294 flight authorisations were issued.
Non-compliant aircrafts were prevented from departure by either SAPS Airfield Liaison Officers or Air Traffic Controllers at various airports.
In cases where aircrafts were already airborne and a high state of security was required, violators were either requested to divert and land at airfields outside the secured area or were intercepted and then escorted to a secure airport.
During periods of lower security, aircraft already airborne were allowed to complete their flight with action only taken on landing.
According to the SAAF, aircrafts were also intercepted as a precautionary measure in order to validate their aircraft registration and type when arriving from areas outside radar coverage.
The process varied from refusing Security Screening Codes to crew for future flights, charges with court action, to merely admonishing the crew and briefing them on the process to be followed in future.
The restrictions are being removed as the matches are completed per venue. The final restrictions will be lifted in the Gauteng Area at the end of the tournament.
