
Project leaders at the Cape Winelands Airport confirmed they are satisfied with the new aviation hub’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
As its name implies, the Cape Winelands Airport will serve as a new point of entry to the Cape Peninsula’s famous viticulture region.
The site has existed since 1943 as a small landing strip for non-commercial flights, but the land was acquired by private investors in 2020 with the ambitious goal of turning it into an international airport.
The project, valued at R8 billion, intends to convert the site into a global aviation hub that will serve as an alternative to Cape Town International Airport, which is struggling to keep up with demand thanks to the Cape’s growing tourism sector.
Of course, there are several considerations that need to be addressed before such a big project can begin construction, among which is an environmental impact study.
The final round of public participation for the EIA took place on 15 April 2025, where residents voiced their concerns about noise, traffic, and pollution that could result from the new airport.
However, it appears that these concerns won’t be much of an issue, as the environmental assessment practitioner heading the participation effort, Paul Slabbert, said he was pleased with the outcomes of the assessment, as per an EWN report.
“We aim to have addressed everything that we could possibly address and, therefore, we don’t regard that our assessment has got any gaps in it and that we are addressing all the requirements,” said Slabbert.
“We are obviously dealing with the public and authorities, so authorities are providing us with comment in order to ensure that we address everything.”
A Cape Winelands Airport spokesperson, Deidre Davids, said that while residents did have concerns about issues like noise and pollution, they also showed support for the project.
“We’re optimistic and excited about how plans have been progressing, and the team is working full steam ahead,” she said.
A big undertaking
The project’s leaders intend to have the new airport up and running by 2028, serving as an alternative to Cape Town International with a 3.5km runway long enough to accommodate larger aircraft.
The completed site will also have a passenger terminal building designed to process up to 5.2 million visitors annually.
“The airport will effectively process two million international tourists and three million domestic travellers per annum by 2050, taking the overall annual passenger traffic to the region from 10 million to 20 million passengers,” said the project’s managers.
“Beyond job creation, the airport is expected to have a far-reaching impact on the regional economy. Increased tourism and business opportunities will contribute to the growth of local businesses and industries.”
It is anticipated that the Cape Winelands Airport will take roughly 25% of all flights to the Cape by 2035, alleviating a significant portion of the traffic currently routed to Cape Town International.
There’s also an added safety benefit to having a second airport with a large runway in close proximity to Cape Town in case of an emergency.
At present, widebody aircraft that are unable to land at Cape Town International are required to reroute all the way to O.R. Tambo International in Gauteng, which is generally a two-hour journey.