{"id":789088,"date":"2024-09-02T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=789088"},"modified":"2024-09-02T12:59:22","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T10:59:22","slug":"new-airport-for-cape-town-to-offer-local-and-international-flights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/789088\/new-airport-for-cape-town-to-offer-local-and-international-flights\/","title":{"rendered":"New airport for Cape Town to offer local and international flights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Cape Winelands Airport is expected to start offering local and international flights in 2027, promising state-of-the-art facilities and first-class service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is located on a 150-hectare site 13 km northeast of Durbanville. It is, therefore, ideally situated to serve the Cape Town aviation sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airport has a proud history. It was built in 1943 to serve as an operational base for the South African Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It featured four runways and was home to Lockheed Ventura bombers during the tumultuous era of World War 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was previously known as the Fisantekraal Airfield and belonged to the South African Air Force. However, it became privately owned in 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2020, private investors acquired the Cape Winelands Airport property. It is owned and operated by RSA.Aero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, Cape Winelands Airport serves as a general aviation facility and is a popular choice for flight training in the Cape Town vicinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These institutions use the airport for circuit and emergency response training. Private and corporate aircraft occasionally use it for passenger transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, big plans are afoot to transform the Cape Winelands Airport into a hub for air travel to Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airport has previously unveiled a R7 billion redevelopment and expansion plan to create an international commercial airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step is to expand and realign the primary runway to 3,500 m. The airport currently has four runways, two inactive and the others 700 m and 900 m long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also plan to build a passenger terminal that can accommodate 5.2 million annual passengers, with the core goal of establishing a cohesive link with Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than just another airport<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The developers aim for the airport to be more than just an aviation hub. It will be used as a driver of regional economic development and local community inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other developments on this site include cargo terminals, aircraft hangars, a hotel, heliport, warehousing and logistics facilities. A commercial real estate development is also planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are eagerly anticipating our future role in the city’s dynamic travel and tourism landscape,\u201d the Cape Winelands Airport said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction on expanding the airport is expected to start early next year, provided all of the approvals are in place. It is currently undergoing numerous legislative processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf all our applications are approved, we will begin transforming the airport by realigning the runway, adding new airside infrastructure, and constructing a boutique terminal,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is to commission the transformed airport and open it to local and international flights in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 8 August 2024, Cape Winelands Airport announced that its environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed airport expansion was underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This assessment evaluates the potential impact of the airport expansion and the development in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cape Winelands Airport said it is committed to sustainability trends with eco-friendly practices and technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes using groundwater resources, powering operations through renewable energy, and having an eco-friendly design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big benefit to international airlines<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A significant benefit of the Cape Winelands Airport is that it can serve as an alternative destination for international airlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Union Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) and other regulators require airlines to carry destination alternate fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the amount of fuel required for an aeroplane to land at an alternative airport if a landing at the destination airport is not possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many large airlines, the alternative airport to Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) is O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means they must carry a large amount of extra fuel to abide by the aviation rules related to alternative destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cape Winelands Airport can replace O.R. Tambo as the airlines\u2019 alternative destination, cutting down significantly on the extra fuel they need to carry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airport explained that its proximity to (CTIA) offers airlines a more viable alternate airport for diversion planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In turn, it alleviates the need to carry an excessive amount of additional fuel for long-haul flights to satisfy regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cape Winelands Airport will reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by reducing the fuel burden by up to 10,000 kg per flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent estimates suggest that the airport will collectively save airlines millions of kilograms of fuel and boost cargo-carrying capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not the only benefit. It will also provide additional capacity, improve redundancy, and reduce inefficiencies at Cape Town International Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The increased competition will also result in more affordable and accessible air travel and make travelling to Cape Town more convenient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parallels have been drawn between the Cape Winelands Airport and the privately owned Lanseria in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RSA.Aero MD Nick Ferguson told Engineering News<\/a><\/strong> that their plans are indeed to create an airport similar to Lanseria in Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he said the Cape Winelands Airport will have a longer runway that can accommodate wide-body aeroplanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt will be able to handle more international traffic, from more destinations, compared with Lanseria,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read: Big airport upgrade for small Garden Route town<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cape Winelands Airport is expected to start offering local and international flights in 2027, promising state-of-the-art facilities and first-class service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":789089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11119],"tags":[20461,20462,20463,20452],"class_list":["post-789088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-cape-winelands-airport","tag-european-union-aviation-safety-authority-easa","tag-nick-ferguson","tag-rsa-aero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789088","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=789088"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":789214,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789088\/revisions\/789214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}