Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) officially launched the OR Tambo International Air-port airport management centre (AMC) on November 2 to ready the South African aviation industry for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking at the launch function, Acsa operations director Bongani Maseko said that 2010 was going to be a busy time for the airports and having all the 
operational industry role-players 
in one centre would result in the ability to solve problems quickly. He revealed that Acsa was also planning to roll out the concept to its airports in Durban and Cape Town for the World Cup.

“The purpose of the AMC is fundamentally to improve the performance of the airport to 
enhance passenger experience and the performance of the airport. It will improve passenger processes in the airport, as well as aircraft and baggage processes,” he said.

The facility has been oper-
ational since May this year and has already resulted in an 
improvement of departure times and airport efficiency.

Maseko said the AMC had been developed over the past three years and ensured coordination between all stakeholders, including Acsa, Air Traffic and Navigation Services, as well as the airlines.

Zurich International Airport head of operation Andrea Baroni said at the launch that the OR Tambo International Airport AMC was an advance on the original Zurich International Airport AMC, which was where the concept was originally developed.

“The idea of an AMC is to 
improve daily airport operations by stimulating collaboration 
between airport partners, namely 
the service providers and airlines.”

He added that the effective 
approach of an AMC covers communication and cooperation 
between partners, operational 
transparency through shared information, and governance through sustainable improvement of business performance.

Baroni said that benefits from the AMC included shared information to increase the efficiency of daily operations, coordinated 
planning and proactive measures to reduce uncertainties and 
reserve capacities and better use of existing infrastructure.

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