• On the 14^th of December it was reported that there were delays and queues in the processing of passengers for International Departure at the Immigration points as a result of the Border Management Authority's system challenges;

• I wish to express our sincere apologies for the inconvenience by the delays and queues caused by BMA technological challenges last week.. We really appreciate the public's understanding and cooperation during this busy period and

• ​​ACSA and BMA  are addressing the technological challenges until the system is replaced in 2025.

PASSENGER PROJECTIONS

• Our projections indicate that 119 696 International and 262 108 Domestic passenger are expected between today and the 24^th of December with the busiest being 20 886 International 39 423 Domestic on the 20th of December;

• We are also preparing for the period 2^nd January where people will be returning from Festive season holiday destinations.  Although the peak in that period is lower than the outbound, we have nevertheless have projections for passenger numbers in peak hours and peak day, which in turn inform our deployment of our across all our stakeholders and at landside, terminal and airside of our Airports.  

• To make inbound and outbound travel seamless and easier, a dedicated BMA Technical Committee has been established, comprising representatives from BMA, ACSA, South African Police Service, South African Revenue Service, State Security Agency, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department  and the Department of Transport and other stakeholders. This committee focuses on addressing airport-related risks and crime challenges through a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach.

OUR PROPOSAL FOR TRAVELLERS

• As a result of consultation between BMA and ACSA we are proposing that passengers arrive earlier than usual to make travel easier and stress free given the systems impact; Three hours for international travellers and Two hours for domestic travellers; 

• Travellers should check airline's terms and conditions, such as baggage restrictions to avoid wasting having to join queue to pay for excess luggage; Download and check notification on delays on flights and travel information.

DR MASIAPATO

• The collaboration between our two organisations ACSA and BMA is critical to ensuring that border management and airport operations remain seamless, efficient, and secure during this high-traffic period. The BMA oversees the facilitation and management of legitimate travel and trade through 71 ports of entry, including 10 international airports where ACSA serves the airport operator, owner and landlord for all government agencies and commercial operators;

• ​As part of preparations for the festive season, various engagements were held with stakeholders and our six immediate neighbouring countries of Lesotho, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, eSwatini and Botswana both from the BMA side and from ACSA, an industry readiness workshop took place on 01 November 2024;
• The BMA and ACSA have been working tirelessly to implement strategic interventions to manage this influx and maintain service standards for all travellers. Since our festive season operations commenced, 676 flights have been cleared across all our airports with passenger movements of 334 063 facilitated at ORTIA from 04 to 18 December 2024;