Airports Company South Africa has clarified that the Wednesday evacuation of the domestic terminal at OR Tambo was due to a bomb scare, which turned out to be a hoax.<\/p>\n
ACSA’s full statement below:<\/p>\n
The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused during the evacuation of passengers from the domestic arrivals terminal on the evening of the 31st of May 2023.<\/p>\n
ACSA received a notification by an anonymous caller of an alleged bomb threat at the domestic arrivals hall at approximately 17h00 on Wednesday, 31 May 2023.<\/p>\n
Upon learning of the potential security risk, we immediately initiated the evacuation of all passengers and staff from the area that was potentially at risk. After a thorough investigation by the South African Police Service (SAPS), it emerged that there was no reason for concern, normal service has since resumed, and the domestic arrivals hall was declared safe as at 19h25 GMT.<\/p>\n
As a result of this temporary disruption to normal operations, eight domestic flights were affected.<\/p>\n
ACSA\u2019s primary concern will always be the security of our passengers and staff, and it was imperative that action be taken immediately to ensure their safety.<\/p>\n
While the matter will continue to be investigated by SAPS to establish the origin and motive of the individuals behind this incident, we would like to assure all our passengers that our security personnel will remain on high alert and all necessary precautions will be taken to ensure the continued safety of our passengers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nOriginal story:<\/strong> Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) says that OR Tambo has been declared safe following an unspecified security incident on Wednesday (31 May).<\/p>\n
The group sent an alert that the domestic terminal at OR Tambo International Airport was being evacuated on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
It did not provide any details on why the terminal was being evacuated, except to say that it is being done as a “precautionary measure”, with investigations ongoing.<\/p>\n
“O.R. Tambo International Airport Domestic Arrivals is currently being evacuated. This is a precautionary measure. Further updates will be communicated once the matter has been fully investigated. We do profusely apologize for the inconvenience caused,” it said.<\/p>\n
However, 45 minutes after the alert, the group provided a follow-up update, indicating everything was clear.<\/p>\n
“O.R. Tambo International Airport has been declared safe by the Security Cluster. All domestic arrival flights are currently disembarking. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”<\/p>\n
\nUPDATE: O.R. Tambo International Airport has been declared safe by the Security Cluster. pic.twitter.com\/s8EQ0bXLQI<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Airports Company SA (@Airports_ZA) May 31, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n