Airports Company of South Africa said the fact there are many failed airlines heading to the festive season led to ticket prices going up.
ACSA CEO Mpumi Mpofu said several failed airlines which operated in the country have left a void in the local market, with the remaining operating airlines struggling to meet local demand.
Mpofu talked about the liquidation of airlines such as Comair, SA Express, and Kulula, Mpofu said that seat capacity from those airlines had not yet been restored, according to a report by EWN.
The CEO Mpofu added that this had also caused a spike in ticket prices as many travellers moved around the country for the summer holidays.
“So when people book, they find the aircraft full. If we had had more, basically those places would have been taken up,” she said.
“I know a lot of people who took decisions not to fly because they were not sure whether capacity was going to be a constraint or not. So hopefully that will improve because leasing an aircraft is quite a complex process.
“It doesn’t happen at a touch of a button but increasingly, the airlines we are working with are increasing that aircraft capacity on a month-to-month basis.”
As also reported by BusinessTech Africa last week, operations at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) had been affected due to a fuel shortage.
The airports operator said this was due to a technical fault experienced from the fuel storage facility to the main hydrant system that led to an impact on refuelling aircraft.
“The technical issue was due to the main supply valve supplying fuel to the aprons not opening, thus causing rotational delays to domestic and international departures. As a contingency, a tanker was used to refuel aircraft,” said the ORTIA airport management.
The management said from the commencement of operations until 8.30am, when the problem was resolved, a total of 41 flights were impacted, 32 being domestic, eight international, and one regional flight.
According to IOL, this comes as passenger volumes have recorded an overall recovery of pre-Covid numbers of 70% for the year to date in South Africa, driven by domestic travel at 72% while international travel accounted for 66% by end of October.
Meanwhile, transport minister Fikile Mbalula said earlier this week that OR Tambo International airport experienced a successful holiday season which saw thousands of passengers using the airport.
“We are immensely proud, except for the glitch of the fuel supply fault that we encountered. We once again apologise profusely to holidaymakers,” Mbalula said.
Mbalula spoke to reporters following an oversight visit to the airport on Monday to check on the work Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) was doing to ensure seamless travel and assess their readiness for 2023.
