The Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) has urged passengers to prepare for their flights before leaving home and to arrive at the airport more than two hours before their flights. This as 18 of the country’s airports are permitted to operate.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced on Tuesday that four more airports will be opened under alert level 2 lockdown. The four that were announced are Mthatha Airport in the Eastern Cape, Hoedspruit in Limpopo, Phalaborwa Airport in Limpopo, and Margate Airport in KwaZulu-Natal.
Making the announcement of the reopening of the airports, Mbalula said that air travel is important to the country’s efforts to gradually open economic activity. The Civil Aviation Authority will be responsible for ensuring compliance with safety and health measures.
“Despite the movement to Alert Level 2, we will continue on the same trajectory until every one of our airports meets the strict protocols,” said Mbalula.
ACSA Group Executive for Corporate Affairs – Refentse Shinners – says the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the aviation industry has been devastating.
“Passengers are encouraged to do as much of the journey preparation at home. Things like booking your flight online, checking in online, printing your boarding pass. Now passengers are expected to scan their own boarding pass. The impact on the aviation industry has been quite dire. From April 2020, we have seen a decrease in passenger numbers of 70% across the continent. For the year, as ACSA we a 50 reduction in passenger volume.”
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