Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) will take over management and operations of Mthatha Airport, in the Eastern Cape, as part of an agreement between ACSA and the Eastern Cape Department of Transport, it announced on Monday.
  
In terms of the contract, ACSA will be responsible for the management of the operations and the maintenance of the airport’s aeronautical and non-aeronautical assets.

This includes managing various aspect of the terminals, including the passenger facilities, and ensuring that all safety, environmental and regulatory requirements are met.
 
“Our new business model is taking us into territory where we are increasingly recognised for our ability to run, develop and grow the footprint of our airports,” says ACSA CEO Bongani Maseko.
 
He welcomed the opportunity to extend the company’s presence in the Eastern Cape, where it already owns and manages Port Elizabeth International Airport and East London Airport.
 
“We have a track record of effectively running smaller regional airports, developing their infrastructure and commercialising them. This engagement enables us to play an active role in supporting economic development in the region,” Maseko notes.
 
Port Elizabeth International Airport facilitates 1.3-million passengers a year with a daily average of 65 air traffic movements, while East London Airport facilitates more than 665 000 passengers a year. On-time performance for both airports exceeds 85%.
 
East London passenger growth was 29% from April to May 2016, compared with 14% growth over the same period in 2015, the highest growth rate for a South African airport.

Port Elizabeth passenger growth remained strong at 11% from April to May 2016.

Maseko ascribes the airports’ passenger growth to the airports’ ability to attract and accommodate new airlines and to the price competition that inevitably follows.
 
“ACSA believes that, over time, Mthatha Airport has the potential to emulate the kind of performance we have seen in Port Elizabeth and East London,” he says.