More air travel expected at OR Tambo in September

Management of OR Tambo International Airport anticipates more than 210 000 passengers will use the airport in September as domestic air travel begins to regain momentum.

Airlines have booked airport slots for more than 2 500 flights to depart from and arrive at the airport for the month. The anticipated load factor, critical for airline sustainability, is 85 per cent.

Speaking at a briefing on Friday on readiness to facilitate greater volumes of passengers, general manager Bongiwe Pityi-Vokwana, said the gradual recovery in demand would be positive for thousands of employees and hundreds of small businesses within the airport’s ecosystem.

“We are seeing encouraging signs that there is confidence in our ability to provide a safe environment for passengers across the journey from check-in to baggage collection at destinations,” said Pityi-Vokwana.

“The forecast figure of 210 000 passengers is only some 12 per cent of what we would have experienced before the pandemic. However, we are re-building 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.”

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Airport management reports that, since the start of Level Two, passengers appear comfortable with the health rules and processes, many of which have already become normalised across the country.

On-time departure performance for airlines is currently 95 per cent in spite of the additional processes and time required for passengers to proceed from parking to check-in, health screening and security.

Pityi-Vokwana also expects more employees to return to work as passengers return to the skies. She said employees are screened when coming onto and going off shift and are well-drilled in the rules and practices that keep them and the travelling public safe.

The airport’s response to the pandemic included mass screening of 6 000 employees in April and May, which was made possible by the collaboration of the national Department of Health.

Since Level Five of the lockdown, 110 employees out of 38 000 normally working around the airport have tested positive for Covid-19. The airport ecosystem, which has had a 100 per cent recovery rate, currently has six active cases where the individuals are in isolation.

Pityi-Vokwana also provided an update on the airport’s activities during early phases of the lockdown. Air cargo flights reached a total of more than 5 300 by mid-August with demand driven by shipments of PPE, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.The airport has also facilitated a total of 1 555 aircraft movements for repatriation and evacuation flights that have carried more than 50 000 passengers since April.

“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,” the general manager explained.

Looking ahead, Pityi-Vokwana said successful application of key changes in and around the airport will need the active cooperation of travellers who most likely have not been inside an airport for several months.Screening by Port Health officials now takes place in front of the security checkpoint with queuing mazes in place to facilitate the flow of people.

“We have found that about 30 per cent of travellers arrive at the airport without having completed the required health questionnaire. This can cause unnecessary delays while people fill in the questionnaire. We appeal to passengers to ensure that they complete the form at the comfort of their homes before they leave for the airport.

“The health questionnaire can be found and printed from the national Department of Health website. If that is done then they can come with the completed questionnaire to the airport and the only screening that will take place is that of the temperature.

“Should a passenger’s screening be higher than 38 degrees they will be afforded five to ten minutes to cool off as there could be a number of reasons for elevated temperature. In the event that the temperature is a health concern, Port Health staff, trained in occupational health will remove the passenger to a segregated area and some to the clinic.”

Pityi-Vokwana also expects a learning period for people who travel to the airport by car.

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

Other key changes at the airport include:

• Passengers have to arrive a minimum of two hours prior to time of departure to afford enough time to pass through all of the necessary health and screening points.

• Passengers are no longer allowed to be dropped off and picked up in front of the terminals. All that activity is to happen inside Parkade Two South where there are three levels; two, three and four. Level two is for pick-up and level three is for drop-off, as well as parking together with level four. Passengers planning on leaving their vehicles at the airport to ensure that they don’t park on the parkade’s drop-off and pick-up levels where tariffs are higher.

• There are 16 self-service check-in kiosks for domestic terminals. If a passenger doesn’t have a boarding pass when they arrive at the airport, meaning they hadn’t printed it at home or it is not on their cellphones, they can utilise one of the self-service kiosks where they can get their boarding pass. This then means the passenger no longer has to go to a check-in agent as it has been in the past which helps with the flow. The kiosks have sanitary wipes that can be used to wipe the touch screen facilities before use.

• Passengers are no longer patted by security officers at security checks, you have to check and remove items that trigger alarms and place them on a sanitised tray; the trays are sanitised after every use.

• You also present and scan your own boarding pass at security and boarding points. There is airline staff to assist in the event that there is a problem.

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