The Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) has called for public comments and proposals for the renaming of four national and international airports in South Africa.
As part of the government’s Transformation of the Heritage Landscape programme, Cape Town International Airport, East London Airport, Port Elizabeth International Airport and Kimberley Airport are subject to renaming.
The renaming will be implemented in terms of the South African Geographical Names Council Act.
An application will be made to the relevant Geographical Names Provincial Committee for processing by ACSA, after which these committees will verify that the applications comply with the guidelines in the national Handbook on Geographical Names.
This will include checking that the name is not offensive or a duplication of an existing one.
The provincial committees will then forward the applications to the South African Geographical Names Council, which will then take a decision on the form or forms of names and recommend them for the Arts and Culture Minister’s approval.
Once the names have been approved by the Minister, they will then be published in the Government Gazette.
A period of 30 days is required for any objections to be submitted in response to the Government Gazette. Should any objections be received, the Minister will assess them before a final decision is published in the Government Gazette.
The Department of Transport and ACSA will then implement the official names as soon as possible.
Proposals and comments may be sent by email to corporate.affairs@airports.co.za or hand delivered to the ACSA office at the nearest airport, by close of business on June 6.