Cape Town airport enjoys surge in travellers

SA’s airline passenger numbers increased by just more than 3% in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the corresponding period in 2016, according to statistics produced by the Airports Company SA’s (Acsa’s) Aviation Barometer.

It said on Monday that 11-million passengers were processed by Acsa’s airports over the quarter under review, which was an increase of 321,000 over the fourth quarter of 2016. It noted extraordinary growth in international passengers at Cape Town International Airport, where international arrivals rose 13.85% and international departures grew 15.69%.

Aviation Barometer is a quarterly review of South African air travel statistics. It compiles arrival and departure numbers from the nine Acsa airports in SA. Kruger Mpumalanga International and Lanseria airports are the only major airports not operated by Acsa.

The numbers are a fair reflection of air travel in SA, says aviation insider Linden Birns.

The International Air Transport Association reported in December 2017 that Africa’s aggregate passenger numbers had risen sharply in October, up 7.5% year on year from a 3.6% increase in September. It said the increase for Africa was slightly better than the aggregate year-on-year growth in global demand, which was 7.3%, from a 6.6% increase in September.

The Airlines Association of Southern Africa forecast growth in passenger numbers for SA (international and domestic) at between 3% and 4% a year for the next five years.

In KwaZulu-Natal, King Shaka International maintained growth in domestic passenger traffic, with arrivals up 5.63% and departures up 6.17% in the quarter. Numbers between King Shaka and regional airports such as Mthatha, East London and Port Elizabeth also grew, following the opening of new routes by smaller airlines.