O. R. Tambo International Airport
O. R. Tambo International Airport (IATA: JNB, ICAO: FAJS or 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.
"Johannesburg Airport" redirects here. For another airport in Johannesburg, see Lanseria International Airport.
O. R. Tambo International Airport
O. R. Tambo Internasionale Lughawe (Afrikaans)
The airport was originally known as Jan Smuts International Airport,[3] after the former South African Prime Minister. It 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 Tambo.[4]
History[edit]
The airport was founded in 1952 as Jan Smuts International Airport, two years after Smuts's death. Situated 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 proposal was made for the airport to be renamed "O. R. Tambo International", after former African National Congress President and anti-apartheid activist Oliver Tambo, in a change to the policy of neutrally-named airports. The proposal 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 expense involved in renaming the airport. Corne Mulder of the Freedom Front Plus described the renaming as "nothing less than political opportunism and attempts by the ANC government to dodge the true socio-economic issues of the country".[15]
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
Developments[edit]
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. An additional multi-storey parkade was built in January 2010, at a cost of R470 million opposite the Central Terminal Building, 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. 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. 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.
Terminals[edit]
There are six terminals at the airport, in 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, 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.[22]
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.
