Changes to jo'burg's airport

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) is following the lead of other international airports by making the terminals at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport multi-use, so that they can process both international and domestic flights interchangeably...

Using multi-use terminals will allow the airport to be more efficient in the use of existing infrastructure, minimising the dependence on construction of more new buildings to create capacity.

Like other international airports with multi-use terminals, the international and domestic descriptors of the terminals will fall away at OR Tambo International Airport.

"There will still be two terminals, which will in future be known as Terminal A and Terminal B," ACSA said in a statement last week.

Terminal A will extend from the Central Terminal Building atrium to the north - previously the international terminal - and Terminal B will extend south - previously the domestic terminal.

"For the foreseeable future the check-in counters in the existing international departures hall will continue to be used for international flights only, while the multi-use Central Terminal Building departures facility will be used by both international and domestic airlines, allowing those airlines with domestic and international flights to use the same check-in counters," ACSA said.

Implications for passengers

Passengers and visitors will have to know which terminal their airline of choice is operating from, and should obtain this information at the time of booking their tickets.

To assist them, the airport will be putting up temporary signs that show which airlines operate out of each departure terminal.

"Passengers and visitors are advised that signage in and around the terminal will in the future no longer refer to domestic and international terminal," ACSA said. "Signs will refer only to Terminal A or Terminal B."

Airline check-in counter moves

At the beginning of April, when the new multi-use departures hall in Terminal B opens in the Central Terminal Building, some airlines serving international routes will move into the new facility.

Among them are South African Airways which will process both international and domestic passengers from the new facility.

Other airlines that will also be moving to the new facility include:

SA Express and SA Airlink (which, like SAA, will process both international and domestic passengers from their counters)

UM - Air Zimbabwe

MD - Air Madagascar

WB - Rwandair Express

TC - Air Tanzania

QF - Qantas

CX - Cathay Pacific

MS - Egypt Air

MK - Air Mauritius

Check-in counter renumbering

The changes to the terminal naming and the multi-use terminal will necessitate the changing of check-in counter numbers in both departure terminals.

They will have an alphanumeric numbering system, with a three digit number being prefaced by A or B, depending on which terminal it is located in.

The counters in Terminal A (currently international departures) will be numbered from the south to north and those in Terminal B (currently domestic departures) will be numbered from the Central Terminal Building to the south.

"The existing counters in Terminal B will be renumbered in preparation for the opening of the new facility at the beginning of April," ACSA said.

Source: www.southfrica.info