Demand escalates in Mthatha after Mandela scare

WHILE the rest of the world holds its breath waiting for news of ailing former president Nelson Mandela, car rental agencies at Mthatha Airport say they have had an unprecedented surge in bookings.

Yesterday, the Saturday Dispatch spoke to some rental agents at the airport. Some said demand had suddenly gone into overdrive with some cars booked for weeks.

One rental agent claimed all their vehicles had been booked as early as Monday.

“We practically do not have any cars to hire out because they have been booked already,” he said.

“I can tell you my main business is good at the moment. We might even have to request cars from other branches in the province to come to our rescue.”

Apart from normal Airlink flights in the morning and afternoon, construction workers working on the multimillionrand upgrading of the facility were seen getting on with their business.

On Thursday, two Airlink planes touched down within minutes of each other but staff downplayed the event, saying it was normal on Thursdays and Fridays.

The construction works are part of a R465million upgrade of the airport which includes the construction of a new apron, a R250-million 3km runway to accommodate larger aircraft, a traffic navigation service for night landings, shoulders on the existing runway for protection from jet blasts, a taxi runway and parking on one apron, emergency roads in front of the hangars and new parking for buses and car hire services and conversion of existing parking into pay-forparking facility.

The upgrading work is set to be completed before the end of this year.

The Dispatch noted yesterday that many parking bays belonging to car rental businesses were empty.

Agents said East London had also run out of hire cars.

Some firms in Mthatha have reportedly requested more vehicles to cater for the growing demand.

“From Monday the demand picked up and we are not sure if this is linked to news of Tata’s critical condition. We have been told to prepare ourselves as it could get even more hectic should Tata’s health deteriorate further.”

Cliff Ncapayi, a rental agent from Hertz, said luxury vehicles like BMWs and Audis were proving popular among clients. He said his clients, some from as far afield as Johannesburg, were phoning and enquiring about the state of the roads in and around Mthatha. — sikhon@dispatch.