OVERVIEW Transport and
OVERVIEW Transport and logistics Cape Town is more connected than ever before. SECTOR INSIGHT Rail usage is down by 95%. In June 2023, Cape Town International Airport welcomed a first flight from Eswatini Air. Regular flights will be made between the city and Manzini on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays in a 50-seater Embraer ERJ 145. LAM Mozambique Airlines became the latest addition to the Cape Town direct flight roster when its inaugural flight from Maputo, Mozambique touched down in December 2023. The airline operated the first flight on a Boeing 737-700 but thereafter the route will be serviced by a Bombardier CRJ-900, operating yearround with three flights per week. Another new airline to start flying to Cape Town is Air Belgium. Belgium is the Western Cape’s seventh-largest European export market, with R2.61-billion in goods exported in 2021, up 81.5% from 2020. Passengers flying to Cape Town on Air Belgium have a stop in Johannesburg where they do not get off the plan. As volumes increase it is expected that Cape Town will get its own direct flight. Two-way passenger traffic showed a 50% recovery for the first six months of 2022, with 8 300 passengers flying between Brussels and Cape Town and for the first six months of 2022, 500 tons of air cargo were flown between the two destinations. South African Airways (SAA) will now fly a direct, non-stop flight Cape Town International Airport with São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. George Airport now welcomes over 800 000 passengers each year and also serves as a national distribution hub for cargo such as flowers, fish, oysters, herbs and ferns. George Airport is Africa’s first airport to be solar powered. Plettenberg Bay Aerodrome hosts CemAir which flies to and from Johannesburg and Cape Town. Cargo movement for the whole province was the topic of the Western Cape Air Cargo Conference held for the first time in 2023. Hosted by Wesgro, Cape Town Air Access and Exporters Western Cape, the event brought together integrators, freight forwarders, local exporters, and domestic, regional and international airlines. Combining talks and networking opportunities with exhibitions from the airlines, the conference was intended to stimulate the province’s air cargo market. The owners of the Cape Winelands Airport unveiled plans to further develop their property in December 2023. With support from the City of Cape Town, the R7-billion project is expected to open in 2027 if all of the processes such as environmental assessments can be completed and funding secured. What used to be known as the Fisantekraal Airfield is on the R312 which connects Durbanville with Paarl to the north of the N1 highway. Lockheed Ventura bombers used to fly in and out of the facility when it was a South African Air Force base, originally constructed during World War II. One of the existing airfield’s four runways is earmarked for realignment and extension to a Code 4F runway. It would be capable of accommodating widebody aircraft and new aircraft WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024 34 PHOTO: airspace-africa.com
OVERVIEW Integrated plans parking stands will be constructed. The airport was renamed the Cape Winelands Airport when new owners bought the property in 2020. Several reasons have been advanced for the need for an alternative to Cape Town International Airport. The huge volumes being experienced at CTIA are expected to grow, both in terms of cargo and incoming tourists. The Cape Winelands Airport is well situated in terms of delivering tourists to attractive destinations such as the West Coast, Paarl and Stellenbosch. The airport also has the potential to make the Cape a more attractive destination for long-haul flights. At the moment, aeroplanes flying to Cape Town must carry enough fuel in reserve to be able to fly to an alternate airport if for some reason their intended destination is not able to accept them. This adds to the amount of fuel and therefore the weight of the plane. With the Cape Winelands Airport being only 25km from CTIA, noteworthy savings could be made in terms of weight and fuel consumption. Additional advantages include the fact that the site’s elevation at 400 feet means that it does not attract winter fog and the fact that the northern suburbs of Cape Town are growing fast. A new terminal, additional hangars and a cargo-processing facility are planned as part of the core development. In addition, hotel accommodation for passengers and flight students and a heliport are envisaged. The Cape Winelands Airport development team includes some experienced aviation hands. Board Chairman Dirk Ackerman was CEO of ACSA from 1995 to 2000 and Managing Director Deon Cloete ran CTIA between 2008 and 2021. The City of Cape Town conducted a feasibility study in the course of 2022 on taking over the management of passenger rail services from PRASA. The city wants to have a fully-integrated system, which would include rail. In 2022 the city’s Urban Mobility Directorate published an updated Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan (CITP), outlining the strategies and plans for improving the transport environment in the metropole for five years to 2028. A range of new factors were considered in drafting the plan, such as the virtual disappearance of passenger rail as an option, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the new trend towards remote working. According to the document, 58% of commuters use private vehicles to get to their destinations; 22% use minibus-taxis; 9% use bus services such as the MyCiTi and GABS; 2% use rail (a decline of 95% for the period 2012 – 2022); and about 10% walk. ■ ONLINE RESOURCES Airports Company South Africa: www.airports.co.za Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa: www.prasa.com South African National Roads Agency: www.sanral.co.za Transport and Urban Development Authority: www.tct.gov.za PHOTO: MyCiTi 35 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024
