Tag Archive for: Airports Company South Africa

Andrew Stegmann

Plan to Open Up Tourism in South Africa – Including International Flights – But No Dates Yet

The Department of Tourism presented its revised budget in parliament on 9 July, highlighting how the coronavirus pandemic and the national lockdown have caused massive damage to the industry.

Addressing parliament’s tourism portfolio committee, Tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, said that while easing lockdown regulations in the sector was aimed at assisting businesses, it had to be done under strict conditions, and while reinforcing government’s health objectives towards defeating Covid-19.

The minister added that her department’s focus will be on supporting domestic tourism as the first point of recovery.

However, she caution cautioned that the recovery of the entire tourism industry would largely depend on how travel-ready authorities are in terms of managing and controlling coronavirus locally and globally.

The below graphic, taken from the department’s presentation, shows how tourism and the aviation sector is likely to open up in South Africa.

The department did not provide information on when these phases are likely to be introduced – noting again that they were heavily dependent on aviation regulations. However, it made it clear that it will focus on ‘domestic tourism first’.

“Tourism recovery will experience a number of phases, from hyper-local community attractions, through broader domestic tourism, regional land and air markets, and lastly resumption of world-wide international travel.

“The phases may not necessarily follow the same sequence but of certain is domestic tourism first.”

Tourism director-general, Victor Tharage, confirmed that the department lost close to R1 billion in its readjusted budget as announced by finance minister Tito Mboweni.

However, Tharage said that although there were difficult times ahead for the industry and those dependent on it, his department would still be able to meet all its amended targets in line with its adjusted budget.

Travel

At the end of June, Transport minister Fikile Mbalula announced that a number of air travel restrictions will be eased as part of the country’s move to ‘advanced’ level 3.

Mbalula said that this will include the reopening of a number of domestic air routes, as well as general relaxations around the industry.

The airports include:

  • Bram Fischer International Airport (Bloemfontein);
  • Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport;
  • Pietermaritzburg Airport;
  • Port Elizabeth International Airport;
  • Richard’s Bay Airport;
  • Skukuza International Airport.

OR Tambo International, Cape Town International, King Shaka International airport, and Lanseria have been open since the start of the June.

South Africans are currently only allowed to fly domestically for business purposes, with international travel only allowed for repatriation and medical evacuations.

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

The 20 Busiest Airports in The World

New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport is no longer ranked among the 20 busiest in the world, thanks to the rush in Asia.

Among those pushing out JFK was New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, which made its debut on the table last year at No. 16, according to Airports Council International rankings released Monday.

The Indian airfield was also the fastest-growing on the list, with passenger traffic rising 14 percent, followed by 10 percent at China’s Guangzhou, which climbed two notches to No. 13.

The center of gravity for world aviation is continuing its eastward shift, with China and India poised to feature among the world’s top three air-travel markets by 2020 as rising incomes make fares more affordable, Montreal-based ACI said.

The Asia Pacific region is likely to have 3.5 billion passengers by 2036, adding more than double the forecast for North America and Europe combined, according to estimates by the International Air Transport Association.

To cater to that explosion in demand, about half of the $1 trillion budgeted for airport expansions and upgrades around the world are expected to be spent in Asia, Sydney-based CAPA Centre for Aviation estimates.

Efforts by Chinese airlines to add more direct flights to the U.S. and Europe stoked passenger traffic at second- and third-tier airports last year, ACI said. Travel demand in China is expected to add 3 billion more passengers by 2040, representing 21 percent of the projected global passenger traffic growth, it said.

JFK, as in some other big cities, has other airports nearby. The combined traffic at the New York metropolitan area’s three large airports is typically twice that of JFK’s alone.

Other ACI highlights:

  • Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, still the world’s busiest airport – holding the title for the past 20 years, was the only one among the top 20 to report a decline in passenger traffic.
  • In China, Tianjin Binhai International Airport reported 25% more passengers last year; Nanjing 15.5%, and Xian 13%
  • In India, passenger traffic in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) jumped 27%, while Hyderabad saw a 20% gain and Bangalore, 13%
  • Dubai was the world’s busiest for international passengers, followed by London’s Heathrow and Hong Kong For air cargo, Hong Kong took the top place, with Memphis and Shanghai coming in second and third.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, and Remuneration needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: Bloomberg (via BusinessTech) [1], [2]. Image sources: [1].