Acsa warns of delays at passport control at OR Tambo International Airport

The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has warned travellers to expect long queues at the OR Tambo International Airport on Monday.

"Passengers departing from or arriving at OR Tambo International Airport are advised that the airport is experiencing long queues at the Border Management Authority's passport control processing points which are contributing to delays," Acsa said.

It added that additional personnel has been deployed to assist with passenger movement. Kindly note we are working to expedite the processing procedures.

"Additionally, we also urge passengers to allow for extra travel time when traveling to the airport," the authority said.

This comes just two days after flights were affected by inclement weather conditions, which impacted on flights.

Last week, 177 flights were disrupted at ORTIA, leaving 22.073 passengers stranded owing to a fueling issue.

At the time, Acsa said the disruption was due to a drive shaft that shattered.

"This prevented the pumping of jet fuel from storage tanks to the aprons, which enables the re-fuelling of aircraft," Acsa said.

Meanwhile, Acsa has hit back at media reports claiming that lack of maintenance was behind the fuel matter. 

Responding to the claims, Acsa said the mechanical failure of the shaft was identified and addressed.

It said while the disruption did affect 483 flights and led to 31 cancellations, it is important to emphasise the scale of ORTIA’s operations.

"Acsa typically manages approximately 1,500 flights and 110,000 passengers daily. Thus, while this disruption was unfortunate and caused significant inconvenience, it did not bring airport operations to a halt. Most flights continued without incident, and the backlog was cleared in a timely manner, with normal operations resuming by 1pm on the same day," the authority said. 

Acsa further clarified that there were no issues with gaskets blowing during the valve replacement process, contrary to claims made by certain media platforms.

"The valve replacement was completed successfully and without incident, and the new valve is performing well under normal operating conditions.  Contrary to claims in the article, this event does not reflect a lack of contingency planning or systemic failure on ACSA’s part.

We are fully committed to ensuring that the airport's fuel systems meet the highest standards of reliability. In fact, the repairs carried out on December 9 were performed in strict accordance with safety protocols, including depressurization, drainage, and purging of the fuel system to meet operational and safety standards," Acsa explained. 

seanne.rall@iol.co.za

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