‘SA airports will be ready for World Cup influx’

South Africa’s aviation industry is more than ready for the challenges presented by the Fifa 2010 World Cup Soccer. With thousands of people expected to flock to the country when the world’s largest sporting event kicks off in June 2010, the Department of Transport is convinced the country’s leading airports will be able to deal with the influx. “Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban combined will be able to dealwith and handle an average of 44 000 inbound people per day by the time the World Cup starts,” said Anwar Gany, chief director: Civil Aviation in the Department of Transport. Speaking at the Transport Forum in Woodmead, Johannesburg recently, Gany said infrastructure upgrades at the airports were progressing well and South Africa was sure to have five-star services in place. He said millions of rands had been spent to upgrade capacity at airports to ensure the country would offer the best service possible to international arrivals and airlines alike. “We have upgraded and expanded our airports and spent about R21.9 billion.”