OR Tambo International Airport (OR Tambo) will probably handle more than 210 000 passengers next month. That is the estimate of the airport’s management. The currently operating airlines have booked more than 2 500 take-off and landing slots at the airport (which is owned and operated by the State-owned Airports Company South Africa). It is expected that the average load factor for these flights will be 85%.

“The forecast figure of 210 000 passengers for September is only some 12% of what we would have experienced before the [Covid-19] pandemic,” observed OR Tambo GM Bongiwe Pityi-Vokwana. “However, we are rebuilding from virtually zero with just 575 passengers for the entire month of May, for example. We believe that we are on the road to recovery and that demand will accelerate with Spring weather and growing trust that we are applying health protocols rigorously and consistently.”

Currently, the only scheduled flights permitted in South Africa are domestic operations. At the moment, the on-time departure rate for those airlines now operating is 95%. This is despite the fact that passengers must go through additional processes, including health screening, which take more time. 

“We have found that about 30% of travellers arrive at the airport without having completed the required health questionnaire,” she reported. “This can cause unnecessary delays while people fill in the questionnaire. We appeal to passengers to ensure that they complete the form before they leave for the airport.”

International flights have been restricted to evacuation and repatriation flights. Even so, she reported that, since April, there had been 1 555 such international flight movements at OR Tambo, which had carried more than 50 000 passengers. “The involvement and cooperation of embassies and other stakeholders has been invaluable in establishing processes that enable repatriation to take place in the most effective way possible,” she pointed out.

“The terminal-side roadways and the drop-off areas remain closed,” cautioned Pityi-Vokwana. “We now use the parkade closest the terminal buildings with different levels dedicated to drop-off and pick-up.”

On the freight side, by the middle of this month the airport had handled more than 5 300 air cargo flights. The key drivers of these operations had been cargoes of medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment.

Since the national lockdown began, out of the 38 000 people who normally worked at the airport (including airline employees, retail outlet employees and so on), 110 had tested positive for Covid-19. Their recovery rate has been 100%. Currently, there are six active Covid-19 cases and all are in isolation.