Cape Town International Airport

The Cape Town International Airport is managed and under the control of the Airports Company South Africa, or the ACSA. The Airports Company of South Africa is in charge of all the vital airports that are located across South Africa. Being the second largest airport in South Africa, it shares the international and domestic air travel load, with the O.R. Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg. Cape Town International was formerly known as the DF Malan Airport, but changed its name in the 1990’s due to its apartheid-era connotations.

Annually, Cape Town International deals with approximately 95,000 flights and just over 7.8 million passengers, as reported for 2009. The traffic growth has been so phenomenal that it is expected that the airport will accommodate almost 14 million passengers by the year 2015.

Renovations and extensions have been an ongoing project, with new terminals being constructed in 2001 and in 2003. The most recent terminal, opened in 2003, is 21,000 square meters in size and has the capacity to process 1 million passengers annually, and 1,300 during rush hours. The Cape Town Airport operates from five terminals namely the International Arrivals, Domestic Arrivals, International Departures, Domestic Departures for South African Airways and a terminal for Domestic Departures for all other airline services. Airlines that fly to and from Cape Town International include Lufthansa, Air Mauritius, Mango, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Air Namibia, South African Airways, British Airways, Qatar Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Air Botswana and LTU International. The Cape Town International Airport has two paved runways that are 3,195 and 1,699 meters in length, respectively, and are used for take offs and landings.

Cape Town International is approximately 22 kilometers from the center of Cape Town, and transport to and from the airport is serviced by car rental agencies, shuttle services and taxis. Passengers can safely park their vehicles in the parking areas at the airport and there are more than 2,000 parking bays to choose from. A shuttle service between the parking area and terminals is available for passenger convenience. Facilities at the Cape Town International Airport includes ATM’s, banks, postal services, foreign exchange services, bars, restaurants, cafés, various shops and stores and a medical facility. All facilities at the airport are modeled bearing in mind the limitations faced by disabled people, and ensuring that public amenities are easily accessible to all passengers and visitors.

The Cape Town International Airport has proved itself to be one of the leading airports in South Africa, by winning the award for ‘World Travel Awards’ consecutively from 2001 to 2004. In 2005 it came in second for the award, behind the O.R. Tambo International Airport, but secured the ‘Skytax Best Airport in Africa’ award in the same year.