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South African airlines have welcomed the long-awaited re-constitution of the country's two air service licensing councils after a year-long hiatus during which no new license or route applications could be processed.

The Cabinet, in a statement on March 10, announced the appointment of five members each to the International Air Services Council and its domestic counterpart Air Services Licensing Council.

"We greatly welcome the news. We have many outstanding applications and look forward to further expansion into Africa," commented Comair (South Africa) Chief Executive Officer Glenn Orsmond.

"We are very pleased that the councils have been appointed. It's good for South Africa because it means that we can now take full advantage of deploying airlines upon the various routes available to us by virtue of our bilateral agreements, which is ultimately good for the South African economy. We are excited to see that the councils are back in play," agreed FlySafair Executive Manager and Chief Marketing Officer Kirby Gordon.

South African airlines were forced to put their regional expansion plans on hold for an...