O. R. Tambo International Airport

O.R. Tambo Internasionale Lughawe
O.R. Tambo International Airport in Gauteng, South Africa
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorAirports Company South Africa
ServesJohannesburg
Pretoria
LocationKempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa
Opened1952; 72 years ago (1952)
Hub for
Time zoneSAST (UTC+02:00)
Elevation AMSL5,558 ft / 1,694 m
Coordinates26°08′00″S 028°15′00″E / 26.13333°S 28.25000°E / -26.13333; 28.25000
Websiteairports.co.za
Map
JNB is located in Greater Johannesburg
JNB
JNB
Location in the Johannesburg area
JNB is located in South Africa
JNB
JNB
JNB (South Africa)
JNB is located in Africa
JNB
JNB
JNB (Africa)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
03L/21R 14,495 4,421 Asphalt
03R/21L 11,155 3,405 Asphalt
Statistics (April–March 2023)
Passengers15,622,216
Aircraft movements181,527
Source: Passenger and Aircraft Statistics[1]

O. R. Tambo International Airport (IATA: JNB, ICAO: FAOR) is an international airport serving the twin cities of Johannesburg and the main capital of South Africa, Pretoria. It is situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel for South Africa and since 2020, it is Africa's second busiest airport, with a capacity to handle up to 28 million passengers annually.[2] The airport serves as the hub for South African Airways. The airport handled over 21 million passengers in 2017.

It was originally known as Jan Smuts International Airport,[3] after the former South African Prime Minister of the same name. The airport was renamed Johannesburg International Airport in 1994 when the newly elected African National Congress (ANC) government implemented a policy of not naming airports after politicians. This policy was later reversed, and on 27 October 2006 the airport was renamed after anti-apartheid politician Oliver Reginald Tambo (1917–1993).[4]

History

The airport began in 1952 as Jan Smuts International Airport, two years after his death, near the town of Kempton Park on the East Rand. It replaced Palmietfontein International Airport, which had handled European flights since 1945.

In 1943, a decision was made by the Cabinet of the Union of South Africa to construct three international airports with a Civil Airports Advisory Committee formed to investigate and report on the viability.[5]: 224  That report was submitted to the Cabinet in March 1944 with one main international airport on the Witwatersrand and two smaller international airports at Cape Town and Durban.[5]: 224  The South African Railways and Harbours Administration was given the role of managing the project and later in 1944, a member went to the United States to study standards and methods of construction.[5]: 224–5  Four possible sites around Johannesburg were identified, with one south of Johannesburg chosen but soon discarded due to being situated on land with gold bearing reefs below.[5]: 225  Sites were then narrowed down to Kempton Park and the existing airport at Palmietfontein.[5]: 225 

Layouts and rough costing for the two sites were established and submitted for a ministerial decision.[5]: 226  The site would be at Kempton Park and be named Jan Smuts Airport.[5]: 226  The area outside Kempton Park was an expropriated undulating dairy farm of 3,706 acres with a 598 acre eucalyptus plantation.[5]: 227  Sitting on a plateau, the area sloped away towards the east.[5]: 227  The area was drained by the Blesbok River.[5]: 227  The airport became operational on 1 September 1953.[6] The new airport was officially opened by Minister for Transport, Paul Sauer on 4 October 1953 having taken eight years to build at £6.2 million.[6][7] It had one main runway of 3,200m and two smaller ones of 2,514m that crossed the main with all runways being 60m wide.[6][7] A 1,000 men had been employed in the repair workshops.[6] The technical areas consisted of 2,957m of roads, 26,477sqm of concrete apron while the hangars had openings of 106m at a height of 21m.[6] It was expecting to manage thirty flights-a-day and over 200,000 passengers that year.[7] Airlines using the airport at its opening were BOAC, Air France, KLM, SAA, Central African Airways, Qantas, El Al, SAS Group and DETA.[6]

In the late 1950s, jet passenger aircraft became the norm and there was a need to expand the existing ground facilities at the airport, which began in the 1960s and early-1970s. In addition to the new airside facilities, ground developments included: improved road access, parking areas, hotel, retail areas and car hire.[8]: 50 

The late-1960s saw a new choice of aircraft for South African Airways, the Boeing 747.[9]: 339  A decision was made by the Minister of Transport to obtain three, later five 747s for the airline.[9]: 339  Delivery would begin in October 1971 with the first flight to London on 10 December 1971 with daily services from February 1972.[9]: 339  These purchases however required new hangar facilities with the contract awarded in September 1969 initially worth R2,983,408.[9]: 339  Construction started in December 1968 and was completed in October 1971 for R8,000,000 while other work at the airport associated with the arrival of these new aircraft brought the costs to R40,000,000.[9]: 341  Other new buildings such as workshops, testing facilities, stores, staff accommodation and air cargo handling building were built. The new hangar would allow for two 747s in each bay with dimensions of 73.2 m wide, 24.4 m high and a depth of 91.4 m.[9]: 341 

It was used as a test airport for Concorde during the 1970s, to determine how the aircraft would perform while taking off and landing at high elevations ('hot and high' testing).[10] During the 1980s, many countries stopped trading with South Africa because of the United Nation sanctions imposed against South Africa in the struggle against apartheid, and many international airlines stopped flying to the airport. These sanctions also resulted in South African Airways being refused rights to fly over most African countries, and in addition, the risk of flying over some African countries was emphasised by the shooting down of two passenger aircraft over Rhodesia (e.g. Air Rhodesia Flight 825 and 827),[11] forcing them to fly around the "bulge" of Africa. This required specially-modified aircraft like the long-range Boeing 747SP. A second runway was built at the airport in the late-1980s.[8]: 50 

In December 1993, a R120,000,000 upgrade at the airport was completed.[12]: 14  The main part of the projects was an 880 m, 3000 t steel airside corridor consisting of two levels high of 6 m wide with thirteen passenger bridges.[12]: 14  The upper levels are connected the departure lounges through security screening points. Lower levels are for arrivals for entry into the immigration and custom areas.[12]: 14  A future provision for extensions to this airside corridor was included in the design.[12]: 14  A new airside bus terminal was also added for bussing in passengers to aircraft not able dock next to the terminal. Other parts of the project included upgrading the terminal facilities for the passengers.[12]: 14 

Following the ending of apartheid, the airport's name, and that of other international airports in South Africa, were changed and these restrictions were lifted. With the creation of the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) in the mid-nineties, a plan to commercialise the airport began with new passenger and retail and airside facilities to handle a larger number of aircraft completing this phase in 2004.[8]: 50 

The airport overtook Cairo International Airport in 1996 as the busiest airport in Africa[13] and is the fourth-busiest airport in the Africa–Middle East region after Dubai International Airport, Hamad International Airport, and Abu Dhabi International Airport. In fiscal year 2010, the airport handled 8.82 million departing passengers.[14]

In late 2005, a name change was proposed for the airport to "O. R. Tambo International", after former ANC President and anti-apartheid activist Oliver Reginald Tambo, an apparent change to the precedent of neutrally-named airports. The name change was formally announced in the Government Gazette of South Africa on 30 June 2006, allowing a 30-day window for the public to register objections. The name change was implemented on 27 October 2006 with the unveiling of new signs at the airport. Critics noted the considerable expense involved in renaming the airport, and the decision to use a politician as the name would be obscure, confusing and in some instances, offensive. Corne Mulder of the Freedom Front Plus has stamped the renaming "nothing less than political opportunism and attempts by the ANC government to dodge the true socio-economic issues of the country".[15] Unnecessary confusion can be caused, for O. R. Tambo is also a district municipality in the Eastern Cape, seated in Mthatha. The town of Mthatha has an international airport known as Mthatha Airport, formerly named the K. D. Matanzima Airport after former Transkei President Kaiser Matanzima.

On 26 November 2006, the airport became the first in Africa to host the Airbus A380.[16] The aircraft landed in Johannesburg on its way to Sydney via the South Pole on a test flight.

There was no provision for rapid train access until 2010, when the Gautrain opened and allowed passengers to reach the airport from the Johannesburg CBD, Sandton and Pretoria.[8]: 50 

Airport information

A now removed O.R Tambo bust at the aircraft viewing deck above the CTB.

O. R. Tambo International Airport is a hot and high airport. Situated 1,700 metres (5,500 feet) above mean sea level, the air is thin.[17] This is the reason for the long runways.

On 10 January 2013 the airport's ICAO code was changed from FAJS to FAOR.[18]

South African Airways Museum

The South African Airways Museum once was located at the airport. This room full of South African Airways memorabilia was started by two fans of the airline as a temporary location until they could set it up in one of Jan Smuts International's buildings in 1987. The museum has since relocated to Rand Airport (FAGM).

Aircraft viewing decks

The airport has two viewing decks. One is located above the Central Terminal Building, and the other in an administrative section of the airport above the international check-in counters. There are regular displays of Oliver Reginald Tambo, the airport's namesake in the viewing decks.

Infrastructure

Inside the O. R. Tambo International Airport.
OR Tambo terminal buildings
Check-in booths in the International Terminal.

Runways

O. R. Tambo International Airport has two parallel runways adjacent to the airport's terminal buildings. There used to be a third runway, 09/27, but it was closed and became taxiway Juliet. Another decommissioned runway was 14/32 (which crossed runways 03L/21R and 03R/21L); it was converted into taxiway Echo.

Number Length Width ILS Notes
03L/21R 4,421 metres (14,505 ft)[19] 60 metres (197 ft)[20] PALS CAT II[20] Fully laden aircraft require a far greater length of runway to achieve take-off velocity at this altitude. It is the 33rd longest runway in the world.
03R/21L 3,405 metres (11,171 ft)[21] 60 metres (197 ft)[21] PALS CAT II[21]

The runways are equipped with approach lighting systems. Sequenced flashers are not used at any South African runways and therefore not installed. Touchdown zone (TDZ) lighting is available, but never turned on. Runway Threshold, Edge and Centerline lights are the only lighting available. During busy periods, outbound flights use the western runway (03L/21R) for take-off, while inbound flights use the eastern runway (03R/21L) for landing. Wind factors may cause numerous variations, but on most days flights will take off to the north and land from the south.

Taxiways and aprons

O. R. Tambo International Airport has a network of asphalt taxiways connecting runways, aprons and maintenance facilities.[22] All of these taxiways are 30.5 metres wide, except for taxiways Echo and Juliet which are 60 metres wide; they were formerly runways 14/32 and 09/27, respectively. The airport also has nine aprons. Cargo aircraft park at aprons Golf and Whiskey. Many airlines have their aircraft wait long hours between arriving and departing flights. Such aircraft and other cargo aircraft are parked at aprons Delta and Foxtrot to free up jetbridges. Aprons Alpha, Charlie and Echo have jetbridges that connect them to their respective gates. The Bravo apron is not connected to the terminal building, and thus aircraft that are parked there must use an airport bus service.

Developments

ACSA reported that major new developments took place at the airport, in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The development includes expansion of the international terminal, with the new international pier (opened in 2009), which includes gates for the Airbus A380 and increased capacity at the same time. A new Central Terminal building, designed by Osmond Lange Architects and Planners, was completed on 1 April 2009.[citation needed] An additional multi-storey parkade was built in January 2010, at a cost of R470 million opposite the Central Terminal Building,[citation needed] plus Terminal A was also upgraded and the associated roadways realigned to accommodate more International Departures space.

The Central Terminal Building (CTB) (cost: R2 billion) boosted passenger capacity at the landside of the terminal in 3 levels, and allows direct access from international and domestic terminals. Additional luggage carousels were added on 12 March 2010 to accommodate the Airbus A380.[citation needed] Arrivals are accommodated on Level 1, with departures expanded on Level 3; Level 2 accommodates further retail and commercial activities. The Gautrain Rapid Rail Link station is above the terminal.

The new International Pier (cost: R535 million) has increased international arrivals and departures capacity in a two-storey structure with nine additional airside contact stands, four of which are Airbus A380 compatible.[citation needed] Air bridges are already in place and the existing duty-free mall will be extended into this area. Additional lounges and passenger-holding areas will be constructed on the upper level.

A second terminal between the two runways has been cancelled. It would have contained its own domestic and international check-in facilities, contact stands, shops and lounges and was projected to cost R8 billion.[citation needed]

Terminals

There are six terminals at the airport, but these can be broken down into three major areas: the international terminals; the domestic terminals; and the transit terminals. The transit terminal housed disused parts of the old domestic terminals. It has been mostly demolished to build a new Central Terminal that will provide an indoor link between domestic and international terminals, as well as a central passenger check-in area and more gates. It was constructed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Terminals A1 and A2 handle international passengers while the other two terminals handle domestic passengers. Due to the airport's design, departure and arrivals terminals are considered separate terminals. The Central Terminal that is under construction will be named Terminal A3 and it will be used for both international and domestic passengers. The two terminals, Terminal A and Terminal B have been restructured. Several airlines now use Terminal B for all check-ins (top floor, adjacent to the arrivals atrium), for both national and international flights. The airlines that use Terminal B include Air Cote D'Ivoire, RwandAir, South African Airways, Airlink, Lift-Airline, FlySafair, KLM, Air France, Ethiopian Airlines, Qantas and Air Mauritius.[23]

Terminals A and B boast over 140 retail stores. The Duty-Free stores are based airside in Terminal A and many of them stock products exclusively available at the airport.

The ample parking available at O. R. Tambo International Airport was revamped as part of the upgrades made prior to the 2010 World Cup with the introduction of state-of-the-art technology that allows visitors to identify available parking spaces easily.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Air Algérie Algiers [24]
Air Austral Saint-Denis de la Réunion [25]
Air Botswana Francistown, Gaborone, Kasane, Maun [26]
Air China Beijing–Capital, Shenzhen [27][28][29]
Air Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan, Kinshasa–N'djili [30]
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle [31][32]
Air Madagascar Antananarivo [33]
Air Mauritius Mauritius [34]
Air Peace Abuja, Lagos [35][36]
Air Seychelles Mahé [37]
Air Zimbabwe Bulawayo, Harare [38]
Airlink Antananarivo,[39] Beira, Blantyre,[40] Bloemfontein, Bulawayo, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Durban, East London, Gaborone, George, Harare, Hoedspruit, Kasane, Kimberley, Lilongwe,[40] Livingstone,[41] Luanda, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, Manzini, Maputo, Maseru, Maun, Mbombela, Mthatha, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta,[42] Nampula, Ndola, Nosy Be, Pemba, Phalaborwa, Pietermaritzburg, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saint HelenaA, Sishen, Skukuza, Tete, Upington, Victoria Falls, Vilanculos, Walvis Bay, Windhoek–Hosea Kutako
Charter: Ascension IslandB 		[43]
ASKY Airlines Brazzaville, Douala, Kinshasa–N'djili, Lagos, Libreville, Lomé [44]
British Airways London–Heathrow [citation needed]
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong [45][46]
CemAir Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, East London (begins 8 April 2024),[47] George, Harare,[48] Hoedspruit, Kasane,[49] Kimberley, Luanda, Lusaka, Maputo, Margate, Maun,[50] Plettenberg Bay, Port Elizabeth, Sishen, Victoria Falls[51] [52][53][54]
Condor Seasonal: Frankfurt [55]
Congo Airways Kinshasa–N'djiliC, Lubumbashi (both suspended) [56][57]
Delta Air Lines AtlantaD [58]
Egyptair Cairo [59][60]
El Al Tel Aviv (ends 27 March 2024) [61]
Emirates Dubai–International [62]
Eswatini Air Manzini [63]
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa [64]
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi [65]
Fastjet Zimbabwe Bulawayo, Harare, Victoria Falls [66]
FlySafair Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, East London, George, Harare,[67] Livingstone,[67] Maputo,[67] Mauritius,[68] Port Elizabeth, Victoria Falls,[67] Zanzibar [69]
Global Aviation Charter: Zanzibar [70]
Kenya Airways Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta [71][72]
KLM Amsterdam [73][32]
LAM Mozambique Airlines Beira, Maputo, Nampula, Pemba,[74] Tete,[75] Vilanculos [76]
LATAM Brasil São Paulo–Guarulhos [77][78]
LIFT Cape Town, Durban[79] [80]
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich (begins 3 June 2024)[81] [82]
Malawi Airlines Blantyre, LilongweE [83]
Proflight Zambia Ndola [84]
Qantas Sydney
Seasonal: Perth[85] 		[86]
Qatar Airways DohaF [87]
Royal Zambian Airlines Lusaka [88]
RwandAir KigaliG, Lusaka [89]
Saudia Jeddah [90]
Singapore Airlines SingaporeH [91][92][93]
South African Airways AbidjanI,[94] Accra, Blantyre,[95] Cape Town, Durban,[96] Harare, Kinshasa–N'djili, Lagos, Lilongwe,[95] Lusaka, Maputo, Mauritius, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta,[97][98] Perth (resumes 28 April 2024),[99] Port Elizabeth,[100] São Paulo–Guarulhos,[101] Victoria Falls,[102] Windhoek–Hosea Kutako[103] [104][105]
Swiss International Air Lines Zürich [106]
TAAG Angola Airlines Luanda [107]
Turkish Airlines IstanbulJ [108]
Uganda Airlines Entebbe [109]
United Airlines Newark [110][111]
Virgin Atlantic London–Heathrow [112]
Zambia Airways Livingstone, Lusaka [113]
Notes

Cargo

AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Astral Aviation Dubai–Al Maktoum, Lusaka, Maputo, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta[114]
ASL Airlines Belgium Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta[115]
BidAir Cargo Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Durban, East London, George, Harare, Kigali, Livingstone, Mauritius, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, Port Elizabeth, Victoria Falls, Windhoek–Hosea Kutako[116]
Cargolux Luxembourg[117]
EgyptAir Cargo Cairo[118]
Emirates SkyCargo Dubai–Al Maktoum[119]
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Addis Ababa[120]
Etihad Cargo Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta[121]
FedEx Express Dubai-International, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta[122]
Lufthansa Cargo Frankfurt, Lagos, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta[123]
Magma Aviation Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta[124]
Martinair Amsterdam, Harare, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta[125]
Qatar Airways Cargo Doha[126]
Saudia Cargo Jeddah[127]
Singapore Airlines Cargo Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, Singapore[128]
Turkish Cargo Istanbul[129]
Uganda Air Cargo Entebbe[130]

Traffic and statistics

O. R. Tambo International Airport recorded 21.2 million passengers in 2017–2018, up from 20.7 million passengers the year before. Of those passengers, 9.2 million were international and 11 million domestic, with the remainder being classified as "regional" or "unscheduled". 220,644 aircraft traffic movements were recorded; the majority being domestic services. O. R. Tambo International Airport is the busiest airport in South Africa.

Passenger traffic

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Annual (civil years) passenger traffic for O.R. Tambo. See Wikidata query.
Passenger traffic per fiscal year for O. R. Tambo International Airport (April–March)[131]
Year International Regional Domestic Unscheduled Total
Passengers % Change Passengers % Change Passengers % Change Passengers % Change Passengers % Change
2006–07 6,958,277 no data 651,642 no data 10,094,758 no data 89,423 no data 17,794,100 no data
2007–08 7,645,647 Increase9.9% 714,717 Increase9.7% 11,009,841 Increase9.1% 87,293 Decrease2.4% 19,457,498 Increase9.3%
2008–09 7,480,461 Decrease2.2% 730,387 Increase2.2% 9,582,332 Decrease13.0% 91,679 Increase5.0% 17,884,859 Decrease8.1%
2009–10 7,489,211 Increase0.1% 762,033 Increase4.3% 9,270,478 Decrease3.3% 74,481 Decrease18.8% 17,596,203 Decrease1.6%
2010–11 7,965,594 Increase6.4% 794,477 Increase4.3% 9,732,250 Increase5.0% 150,824 Increase102.5% 18,643,145 Increase5.9%
2011–12 8,088,013 Increase1.5% 846,067 Increase6.5% 9,985,246 Increase2.6% 84,216 Decrease44.2% 19,003,542 Increase1.9%
2012–13 8,276,845 Increase2.3% 826,676 Decrease2.3% 9,437,069 Decrease5.5% 80,669 Decrease4.2% 18,621,259 Decrease2.0%
2013-14 8,570,384 Increase3.6% 894,670 Increase8.2% 9,257,225 Decrease1.9% 98,709 Increase22.3% 18,820,988 Increase1.0%
2014-15 8 614 192 Increase0.5% 914 644 Increase2.2% 9 510 809 Increase2.7% 95 448 Decrease3.4 19 135 093 Increase1.7%
2015-16 8 791 210 Increase2.1% 905 729 Decrease1.0% 10 586 823 Increase11.3% 91 236 Decrease4.6% 20 374 998 Increase6.5%
2016- 17 8 974 372 Increase2.0% 931 594 Increase2.8% 10 703 205 Increase1.1% 83 609 Decrease8.3% 20 692 780 Increase1.5%
2017- 18 9 237 487 Increase2.9% 897 409 Decrease3.7% 11 018 062 Increase2.9% 78 552 Decrease6.0% 21 231 510 Increase2.6%
2018-19 9 156 517 Decrease0.8% 891 726 Decrease0.6% 11 193 511 Increase1.6% 72 189 Decrease8.4% 21 313 943 Increase0.4%
2019-20 8 773 298 Decrease4.2% 843 909 Decrease5.5% 11 213 778 Increase0.2% 72 581 Increase0.5% 20 903 566 Decrease1.9%
2020-21 635 873 Decrease172% 59 102 Decrease173% 3 264 655 Decrease109% 104 109 Increase35.7% 4 063 739 Decrease134%
2021-22 2 533 745 Increase119% 289 970 Increase132% 6 738 796 Increase69.4% 70 643 Decrease38.3% 9 633 154 Increase81.3%
2022-23 6 016 890 Increase137.5% 571 294 Increase97% 8 934 356 Increase32.6% 99 676 Increase41.1% 15 622 216 Increase62.2%

Aircraft movements

Annual aircraft movements for O. R. Tambo International Airport[132]
Year International Regional Domestic Unscheduled Total
Movements % Change Movements % Change Movements % Change Movements % Change Movements % Change
2006–07 53,003 no data 17,684 no data 114,917 no data 26,037 no data 211,641 no data
2007–08 59,031 Increase11.4% 18,799 Increase6.3% 121,621 Increase5.8% 29,591 Increase13.6% 229,042 Increase8.2%
2008–09 57,559 Decrease2.5% 17,965 Decrease4.4% 109,372 Decrease10.1% 28,297 Decrease4.4% 213,193 Decrease6.9%
2009–10 59,382 Increase3.2% 19,732 Increase9.8% 103,166 Decrease5.7% 20,252 Decrease28.4% 202,532 Decrease5.0%
2010–11 63,414 Increase6.8% 19,846 Decrease0.6% 105,627 Increase2.4% 24,031 Increase18.7% 212,918 Increase5.1%
2011–12 63,233 Decrease0.3% 20,769 Increase4.6% 107,053 Increase1.3% 21,515 Decrease10.4% 212,570 Decrease0.1%
2012–13 63,610 Increase0.3% 19,021 Decrease8.4% 95,869 Decrease10.4% 21,302 Decrease0.9% 199,802 Decrease6.0%
2013–14 66,993 Increase6.0% 19,408 Increase2.0% 96,788 Increase0.9% 23,414 Increase9.9% 206,603 Increase3.4%
2014–15 65,874 Decrease1.6% 21,164 Increase9.0% 103,612 Increase6.5% 26,977 Increase13.2% 217,627 Increase5.0%
2015–16 65,910 Increase0.1% 21,382 Increase1.0% 110,741 Increase6.8% 26,158 Decrease3.0% 224,191 Increase3.0%
2016–17 65,705 Decrease0.3% 21,069 Decrease1.4% 110,173 Decrease0.5% 23,987 Decrease8.3% 220,934 Decrease1.5%
2017–18 66,124 Increase0.7% 20,314 Decrease3.6% 108,599 Decrease1.4% 25,607 Increase6.8% 220,644 Decrease0.1%
2018–19 64,915 Decrease1.8% 19,735 Decrease2.9% 110,578 Increase1.8% 24,358 Decrease4.9% 219,586 Decrease0.5%
2019–20 64,175 Decrease1.1% 18,453 Decrease6.5% 106,617 Decrease3.6% 22,634 Decrease7.1% 211,879 Decrease3.5%
2020–21 18,851 Decrease70.6% 4,511 Decrease75.6% 36,553 Decrease65.7% 10,499 Decrease53.6% 70,414 Decrease66.8%
2021–22 39,355 Increase108.8% 10,771 Increase138.8% 75,198 Increase105.7% 14,781 Increase40.8% 140,105 Increase99%
2022–23 53,564 Increase36.1% 14,913 Increase38.5% 93,286 Increase24.1% 19,764 Increase33.7% 181,527 Increase29.6%

Other buildings

Airways Park, the head office of South African Airways

South African Airways is headquartered in Airways Park on the grounds of O. R. Tambo International Airport.[133][134] The building was developed by Stauch Vorster Architects.[135] Airways Park was completed in March 1997 for R70 Million ($17.5 Million).[136] The fourth floor of the West Wing of the Pier Development of O. R. Tambo was also the head office of South African Express until it ceased operating in 2020.[137][138][139]

Ground transport

Gautrain at O. R. Tambo International Airport, with direct pedestrian link to the terminal.

Rail transit

The Gautrain, a modern regional express rail system, serves the airport thanks to its station located directly in the terminal. It links the airport with Sandton, a major business district and a primary tourist area, and, from there, the rest of the Gautrain system. The Gautrain is generally praised for its safety and overall efficiency.[140]

Car

The airport is easily accessible by car and it is located northeast of Johannesburg Central at the eastern end of the R24 Airport Freeway. It can be accessed by the R24 Airport Freeway (also known as the Albertina Sisulu Freeway) from Johannesburg Central and the R21 highway from Pretoria and the central part of the East Rand. The R24 intersects with the R21 near the airport and with the O. R. Tambo Airport Highway. This highway goes through the airport terminals, separating them from the parking bays, but it branches off into two directions: "departures" and "arrivals", and then it re-branches into the intersection.

Bus

Five bus city lines, operated by Metrobus and Putco, pass through the airport twice a day. The buses are accessible in the morning and the evening, when there are many passengers departing and arriving. There are also private bus lines operating express buses to the CBD of Johannesburg, as well as other locations.

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

  1. ^ "O.R. Tambo Airport Passenger Statistics". Airports Company South Africa.
  2. ^ "World Cup improvements at Johannesburg airport nearly complete". www.youtube.com. 5 April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2023.[dead link]
  3. ^ Bulpin, T.V. (1980). Mayhew, Vic; Duncan, Tony; Handler, Rosemund (eds.). Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa (2 ed.). Reader's Digest. p. 198, col. 1. ISBN 0-620-04650-3.
  4. ^ "T Mbeki: O R Tambo International Airport renaming | South African Government". www.gov.za. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Greathead, Walter Robinson; Hawkins, Robert Drake (January 1948). "First stages in the construction of the Jan Smuts Airport, Johannesburg - Historical". Civil Engineering = Siviele Ingenieurswese. 46 (1): 224–225. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.| – via Sabinet (subscription required)
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