{"id":411645,"date":"2020-06-29T11:04:23","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T09:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=411645"},"modified":"2020-06-29T11:11:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T09:11:46","slug":"south-africa-moves-to-the-next-phase-of-air-travel-under-lockdown-here-are-the-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/411645\/south-africa-moves-to-the-next-phase-of-air-travel-under-lockdown-here-are-the-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa moves to the next phase of air travel under lockdown &#8211; here are the changes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has announced that a number of air travel restrictions will be eased as part of the country&#8217;s move to &#8216;advanced&#8217; level 3.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at a media briefing on Monday (29 June), Mbalula said that this will include the reopening of a number of domestic air routes, as well as general relaxations around the industry.<\/p>\n<p>Mbalula said that in addition to the country&#8217;s four main airports &#8211; which opened three weeks ago &#8211; the following domestic airports may open from 1 July:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bram Fischer International Airport (Bloemfontein);<\/li>\n<li>Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport;<\/li>\n<li>Pietermaritzburg Airport;<\/li>\n<li>Port Elizabeth International Airport;<\/li>\n<li>Richard&#8217;s Bay Airport;<\/li>\n<li>Skukuza International Airport.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>O.R. Tambo International, Cape Town International, King Shaka International airport, and Lanseria have been open since the start of the June.<\/p>\n<p>The new relaxation is for domestic travel only, with international travel only allowed for repatriation and medical evacuations.<\/p>\n<p><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Airports-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-411671\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Airports-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1212\" height=\"591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Airports-1.png 1212w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Airports-1-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Airports-1-1024x499.png 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Airports-1-768x374.png 768w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Airports-1-1200x585.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1212px) 100vw, 1212px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mbalula added the following sectors will also be allowed to conduct aerial work from 1 July:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Agricultural spraying;<\/li>\n<li>Seeding and dying;<\/li>\n<li>Culling;<\/li>\n<li>Construction;<\/li>\n<li>Surveying;<\/li>\n<li>Aerial advertisement;<\/li>\n<li>Search and rescue;<\/li>\n<li>Photography;<\/li>\n<li>Fire control.<\/li>\n<li>Recreational for proficient purposes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mbalula said that a number of changes have also been made for business travellers, including improved screening and security processes.<\/p>\n<p>He added that airlines are now permitted to provide pre-packed meals which must be placed in front of the passenger before they board.<\/p>\n<p>He said that a number of airports have been excluded from this phased reopening &#8211; including George and East London &#8211; as they do not meet the minimum safety requirements.<\/p>\n<p>Commenting on the difference between taxis and airlines, Mbalula said that the airlines are a much more hygienic form of travelling and that decisions are made following consultations with the airline industry.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;All of our airlines are fitted with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters. This filter is able to \u2018eat\u2019 any form of virus, including the coronavirus,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In a taxi, the only form of defence is if you wear a mask.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that travellers may still not use air travel for leisure purposes.\u00a0 Mbalula said that this decision was made as the country&#8217;s coronavirus cases are expected to increase in July and August.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VnivfnDve3w\" width=\"640\" height=\"430\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Process<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In line with a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/404469\/heres-the-new-normal-for-flying-in-south-africa-as-airports-reopen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">directive<\/a> <\/strong>published at the end of May, a number of procedures must be followed as part of the air travel process under South Africa&#8217;s level 3 lockdown.<\/p>\n<p>The check-in process is as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Passengers should check-in online before going to the airport;<\/li>\n<li>Online check-in can be done at the screens in the terminal building;<\/li>\n<li>A limited number of check-in counters will be open and physical distancing rules will apply in these queues;<\/li>\n<li>Using a check-in counter will take longer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The security checkpoint process is as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Passengers will scan their own paper-based or mobile device-based boarding pass to the scanner at the security checkpoint.<\/li>\n<li>Passengers should remove any metal and electronic items from their person before entering the security queue. This includes mobile devices, watches, jewellery, wallets, keys and so on<\/li>\n<li>These items must be placed in the tray at the security scanner.<\/li>\n<li>This process will minimise the need for security officers to conduct physical pat-downs at the checkpoint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The boarding process is as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Physical distancing rules apply for queues to board an aircraft;<\/li>\n<li>Passengers must scan their own boarding pass at the boarding gate;<\/li>\n<li>Boarding will be done in a controlled manner with passengers travelling in the rear seats of the aircraft boarding first. Passengers with tickets for Row A, for example, will board last;<\/li>\n<li>Masks must be worn for the duration of the flight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/411531\/6-lockdown-changes-announced-for-south-africa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">6 lockdown changes announced for South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has announced that a number of air travel restrictions will be eased as part of the country&#8217;s move to &#8216;advanced&#8217;\u00a0 level 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":247271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-411645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411645"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":411681,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411645\/revisions\/411681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}