Travel disruptions are expected as thousands of people, including international government and consulate delegates, arrive in South Africa this week to pay their respects, following the death of Nelson Mandela last week.
Provinces that are most likely to be affected are Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. On December 10 an official memorial service will be held at the FNB Stadium (Soccer City) in Johannesburg. From December 11-13 Mandela’s body will lie in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. On December 15 an official burial will take place in Qunu, Eastern Cape.
Accommodation
Flight Centre has advised that hotels in the Gauteng area have been blocked as a result of governmental and consulate arrangements with the hotel groups, “which is restricting availability until December 16,” says gm of Flight Centre, Andrew Stark.
He adds that travellers who booked accommodation with these hotels during this period, are being asked to reschedule or they will be accommodated in outlying areas.
Tsogo Sun’s gm of group communications, Priya Naidoo, says they have seen a significant increase in demand. “We advise travellers to contact the hotels directly. Should the hotel not be able to accommodate them, the hotels have access to a Tsogo Sun nerve centre that will be able to advise on alternative accommodation in the respective areas.”
Protea Hotels is also experiencing a higher demand for accommodation, especially in Gauteng and Pretoria. But director of sales, marketing and revenue, Danny Bryer, adds that all channels are still open for bookings.
According to Bloomberg News, the Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel has been booked out for foreign dignitaries attending the funeral and memorial service. Guests who had previously reserved rooms were reportedly asked in a letter to release their bookings with the hotel and advised that no accommodation would be available in the area. The
Flights
With a number of visitors entering the country for the proceedings, there will be an uptick in air traffic demand.
Acsa spokesperson, Unathi Batyashe-Fillis, says major event processes have been activated at OR Tambo International and East London airports, including additional safety controls. Passengers have been asked to arrive at the airport at least two hours before their domestic flight and to communicate with their respective airline to double-check travelling times.
Comair will not be adding any flights to its schedule at this stage. Executive manager for commercial distribution, Iain Meaker, says the company will continue to monitor passenger demand and react depending on resource availability.
SA Express has warned of flight schedule disruptions over the next two weeks, until December 17. Agents and travellers are urged to monitor daily schedule updates.
SAA will be providing chartered air transport for mourners who will attend the funeral in the Eastern Cape. These will not replace or disrupt existing daily operations to the Eastern Cape.
Car rental
Car-rental companies are also expecting an increase in demand, especially as the state funeral, memorial and burial service coincide with the start of the annual holiday period.
Europcar has increased the capacity of its fleet in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape by reallocating fleet from low demand regions, bringing forward vehicle orders and sub-hiring in additional vehicles wherever possible. “We believe that we have sufficient capacity to accommodate our normal demand from our customers, particularly in the smaller vehicle groups. However, in the luxury and people carrier categories, we expect supply to be constrained as there is huge government demand for these vehicles to accommodate the state visitors,” says Europcar coo, Martin Lydall. All bookings will be honoured, including new bookings.
Lance Smith, executive for sales at Avis Rent a Car, says they have seen a demand for larger luxury type vehicles during this time. He explains that Avis has moved cars from across the country and as far as Cape Town to cater for the increase in demand.
"Once the Johannesburg leg of the ceremony is completed we will again move some of the vehicles to the Eastern Cape to cater for the formal funeral. As the high demand is for luxury vehicles for essentially this week and a part of next week, we would advise customers looking for these type of vehicles to call our call centre or their travel agent to check availability," he says.
Lance adds that there is availability for all other vehicles.
Marketing and commercial director of Tempest Car Hire, Mellindree Narayanasami, says they are managing their fleet according to demand and are forward planning. She urges those travelling not to book their vehicle at the last minute as they may be disappointed.
