Plans have been rolled out to tighten security and ensure that all the international guests at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg are able to travel without any risks.

There have been strict instructions to enforce rigid controls over South African airspace when the country welcomes heads of state, ministers and diplomats from Brazil, Russia, India and China in the coming week at the BRICS Summit.

A notice has been issued to protect the airspace near the summit venue, the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, throughout the duration of the gathering.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority has issued an Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) announcing that the airspace in a two-nautical mile radius around the Sandton Convention Centre will be restricted between 7am and 7pm when the summit takes place from 22-24 August. This means that no civilian aircraft or remotely piloted aircraft (drones) will be permitted in that airspace during those hours on those two days.

Speaking to Daily Maverick on Wednesday, Linden Birns, the managing director of the PR company Plane Talking, explained that it was not unusual for this type of notice to be issued.

"It was issued when there was a World Cup and when the United Nations Summit was held here," he said.

Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to attend the...