​Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) would like to address the recent misinformation circulating on social media regarding the state of facilities at O.R. Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), particularly concerning the people movers.

O.R. Tambo International Airport is a world-class facility with the capacity to handle up to 28 million passengers annually. In the 2023/24 financial year, the airport successfully facilitated the movement of 17,852,569 million passengers, and we are on track to serve approximately 18.5 million passengers by the end of the 2024/25 financial year.

This festive season alone, we have forecasted to manage the movement of around 935,911 passengers. With our airport systems running at 98.5% availability, we are confident that we will meet and exceed passenger expectations in handling the forecasted passenger traffic by the end of the financial year. This demonstrates our unwavering commitment to maintaining high service standards and providing an excellent passenger experience.

Unfortunately, recent social media reports have inaccurately depicted the state of facilities, particularly the people movers at O.R. Tambo International Airport. To set the record straight, we would like to clarify the following:

O.R. Tambo International Airport is equipped with a total of 232 people movers, including 95 escalators, 35 travellators, and 102 elevators. Of these, six are currently undergoing refurbishment, and five are undergoing regular maintenance as part of our ongoing infrastructure upkeep. This maintenance and refurbishment program is standard practice at any major international airport, and it is not unusual for a small percentage of assets to be under maintenance at any given time.

Specifically, one escalator at the domestic arrivals area was out of service for nearly two years due to defects that could not be repaired through standard maintenance procedures. This required a capital expenditure investment, and a contracting process for its design and construction was awarded in August 2023. We are pleased to inform the public that this escalator has now been fully replaced, with the work completed in October 2024.

ACSA's maintenance program is a continuous process, with major work typically conducted during the night to avoid disruptions to our passengers. Of the 232 people movers at O.R. Tambo International Airport, 221 are currently in good working order, underscoring ACSA's commitment to providing a seamless travel experience.

We would like to emphasize that ongoing maintenance and refurbishment are essential to meeting the growing demands of air travel and ensuring that our facilities remain modern and capable of accommodating future passenger volumes. While some inconvenience may occur during this process, it is important to understand that such work is necessary to enhance the passenger experience and improve infrastructure to support projected growth.

We kindly ask for the understanding and patience of all passengers as we continue to implement our capital expenditure program over the next five years. This program will modernize and expand our infrastructure to better serve you.

ACSA values the feedback and engagement of our passengers and appreciates their continued support as we strive to improve O.R. Tambo International Airport.

For further information or media inquiries, please contact:

ACSA Media Desk

Mediadesk@airports.co.za

Issued by Airports Company South Africa

//ENDS//​