An inside look at Cape Town International Airport.
In the month of November total arrivals at the airport grew by an impressive 13% compared to 2014’s 5% growth. The month saw a total of 429 464 arriving passengers processed compared to 2014’s 381 563. Domestic arrivals grew by a staggering 14% while International arrivals grew by an impressive 7%.
Passenger numbers for the month of October were impressive with Domestic arrivals growing by 9% and International by 17.6% when compared to last year. “This growth is set to continue as we approach the summer months of January through to March. If this growth continues all indications are that the airport will pass the 9.5 million passenger mark, in fact it is highly likely that by next year this time we will have passed the 10 million passenger mark – a very big deal for a City such as ours where we continue to struggle with being seen as a seasonal destination,” said Deidre Davids.
The increase in numbers can be attributed to a number of factors. On the regional front, we were joined by Fly Africa which operates the Cape Town/Namibia route as of 3 November 2015. On the domestic front, the airport welcomed Fly Blue Crane, operating a flight between Cape Town and Johannesburg in the month of December, responding to the peak season demand. The airport has seen passenger numbers increase by 8.24% year on year comparing 2015 and 2014.
“The peak season is in full swing as the visitors’ stream into the Mother’s City. Our seasonal international airlines such as Condor, Edelweiss, Air France, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa returned in October and we also have Ethiopian Airlines which flies between Cape Town and Addis Ababa. Turkish Airlines commenced its direct daily flight between Istanbul and Cape Town in October. The direct flight will be addressing a growing need among international travellers to fly directly to Cape Town as well as enabling local Cape Town travellers to reach Europe without any stopovers” added Davids.
Airport security will continue to be a focus during this busy period. Airport users and passengers are urged to report suspicious activity and suspicious looking individuals, packages or unattended bags to SAPS, airport security as well as airport staff immediately. “We urge passengers not to say anything which can be deemed a threat as this is viewed seriously. Over the past year we have also experienced passengers making jokes about explosives in their luggage. Any individual who makes such statements at the airport will be arrested and charged under the Civil Aviation Act.” reported Davids.
There are a few exciting initiatives on the horizon at the airport and provided regulatory approval is received airport users can look forward to an improved Domestic Arrivals Terminal with an express route. If positive environmental authorization as well as regulatory approval is received the airport will also realign its runway.
“The runway realignment project is so critical for a region like ours which is heavily reliant on tourism as it is all about unlocking the airports growth potential and making sure that we play our part in ensuring that Cape Town is open for business 356 days a year,” concluded Davids.
