Reader highlights horrible experience at OR Tambo

I was most concerned after reading the letter from Ivan, published by The Citizen on 10 December, about his experience at OR Tambo International Airport. We do indeed pay attention to what our passengers say about their experiences, which is why I have addressed the issues raised by Ivan with my leadership team.

In general, it is true that the airport has had to make significant changes to our facilities and systems over the past several months in response to the impact of Covid-19. Greatly reduced numbers of passengers and very little revenue since 27 March have definitely contributed to changing the way we operate at OR Tambo.

Ivan raises specific issues for which he certainly deserves explanations:

1. Not all aircraft are compatible with the passenger loading bridges. In order to support our airlines in reducing their operating expenses, we allocate to these aircraft parking stands which are close to the terminal building.

This means that passengers are not required to board a bus to travel to the airport building as they would have ordinarily done. Such cost-saving initiatives should not be branded as due to malfunctioning equipment. We work in collaboration with our airline partners to manage our operational expenses given the low demand.

Our airport employees are customer-centric and will assist passengers that are in need.

2. A number of the travellators that Ivan refers to have been switched off. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, which decimated our aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue generating streams, we had to consider mothballing some of our less frequently used airport infrastructure. This was in order to reduce operating costs in line with the decreased passenger volumes.

In addition, people movers such as travellators, escalators and elevators (lifts), among other mechanical infrastructure, are expensive to run especially in a low passenger traffic volume environment where the airport is required to manage its cost base to ensure a sustainable future.

3. The escalator to the baggage collection area referred to by Ivan is out of service due to a failed step chain which is a mechanical component that drives and rotates the escalator steps. Our engineers are sourcing spare parts from abroad to fix the escalator, and these are expected to be delivered in the New Year.

Notwithstanding this, our vertical circulation design is such that redundancy is built in. There is therefore always an alternative means of reaching different floor levels. In the area highlighted by Ivan, we do have a second escalator as well as elevators (lifts) to accommodate passengers descending to the baggage reclaim area.

4. The escalator to the Gautrain station was not working and has subsequently been fixed. It is worth noting that there are alternate people movers available for passengers to access the Gautrain station.

5. Our cleaning regime has been refocused to combat Covid-19. This prioritisation was in line with the World Health Organisation guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect our passengers. Specialised cleaning services were reinstated with the easing of the lockdown restrictions. There is a programme in place where all high access windows are currently being attended to.

6. In terms of general cleaning, we have reviewed and increased the number of cleaners to attend to hotspot areas. We appreciate that Ivan took the time to share his views with The Citizen.

Pityi-Vokwana is general manager: OR Tambo International Airport

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