South Africans travelling by air this week may experience delays, following technical difficulties at the country’s largest airport.
Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport announced that it has encountered challenges with its refueling services and is unable to top-up incoming aircraft as normal.
Consequently, the airport’s management has warned that this will likely cause delays for several flights until the situation is resolved.
“We understand the inconvenience this may cause and technicians are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,” Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said in a statement.
ACSA confirmed that it will continue to provide updates for the passengers travelling on the affected flights, but did not provide a timeline as to when the situation is expected to be resolved.
Travellers are encouraged to contact their respective airlines directly for more information as the situation develops.
Alternatively, passengers can download the ACSA mobile app and subscribe to their flight for live notifications and up-to-date info on when their flight will be ready for takeoff.
The refueling problems have renewed concerns that flight scheduled will be disrupted over the busy December holiday period.
Another round of flight delays
This is the second time in a week that South Africans will experience flight delays or cancellations, following the recent strike at South African Airways (SAA).
The strike began on Thursday, 5 December 2024, following a collapse in wage negotiations between the national flag carrier and its pilots that began all the way back in May.
Shortly thereafter, travel agency Flight Centre issued a notice warning holidaymakers of disruptions to SAA’s service over the coming week.
The strike affected all SAA-operated flights on domestic and regional routes, including:
- Johannesburg (JNB) to/from Cape Town (CPT)
- Johannesburg (JNB) to/from Durban (DUR)
- Johannesburg (JNB) to/from Port Elizabeth (PLZ)
- Johannesburg (JNB) to/from Windhoek (WDH)
- Johannesburg (JNB) to/from Mauritius (MRU)
Thankfully, the strike came to an end on Sunday evening, following an agreement to a pay increase from the air carrier’s management.
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