Small or secondary airports around South Africa could be in for a boost.
The management company driving the expansion at Cape Winelands Airport (CWA), rsa.AERO, has ambitions to grow South Africa’s aviation sector by injecting investment into certain of these facilities, and improving the services they offer.
Beyond the R7 billion expansion at the 80-year-old ‘Grand Old Lady’ that will see it become an internationally-served airport, rsa.AERO is also channelling efforts into growing its footprint into other parts of the country.
Speaking to Travel News, Deon Cloete, MD of CWA, revealed that while CWA will be the “jewel in the crown” for rsa.AERO, there are discussions to develop airport services along South Africa’s West Coast, Kalahari and Garden Route.
“We are looking at building other subsidiaries under the rsa.AERO brand,” said Cloete.
These subsidiaries, he explained, will not compete with airports under Acsa’s management, rather, they will be designed to provide easy access for passengers that are complementary to existing airports.
“We’re not going to go big. Acsa is well-established at the main airports such as OR Tambo, King Shaka and Cape Town International,” said Cloete. He believes that there is a need for attention to be given to smaller airports that have been underutilised to provide access to areas that have previously not been serviced.
“We often read about airports that are either not functional or that lose their licenses, which is sad and unnecessary, and frankly, it’s inexcusable. In a time like this, there’s a lot more that we can do, and we can be proud of how we do it.”
