{"id":825637,"date":"2025-05-27T10:30:19","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T08:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=825637"},"modified":"2025-05-27T10:43:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T08:43:05","slug":"name-change-planned-for-major-south-african-international-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/825637\/name-change-planned-for-major-south-african-international-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"Name change planned for major South African international airport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has recently announced plans to rename Lanseria International Airport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this plan to rename the airport has sparked criticism following the announcement by the mayor during his 2025 State of the City Address. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morero revealed that discussions were underway to change the airport’s name to reflect its identity and connection to Johannesburg better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This move surprised several coalition partners in the city council, like the United Democratic Movement (UDM), and other political parties, such as the Freedom Front Plus (FF+).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Morero, the airport\u2019s management is considering the name change as part of a broader effort to elevate its status and strengthen its brand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe city will support this initiative, which will strengthen the airport brand and foster a stronger sense of belonging,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While no new name has been proposed yet, the mayor emphasised the airport\u2019s growing role as a major transport hub for Gauteng and Southern Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said this role has made it essential to consider a name that resonates more with the city\u2019s image and aspirations. City officials also said a new name could help Lanseria compete more effectively globally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morero argued that the rebranding forms part of a broader strategy to align the airport\u2019s growth with the city’s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are growing, and our airport must grow with us\u2014in infrastructure, in capacity, and in identity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the proposal has not been universally welcomed. Coalition partners voiced concerns over the lack of consultation and questioned the timing and necessity of the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UDM councillor Yongama Zigebe told News24 that Morero’s announcement was the first the party had heard of the renaming plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a party, we are waiting for Morero to bring a report on the renaming to the Portfolio Management Committee so that we can discuss it there,\u201d Zigebe said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pointed out that the council, not the mayor alone, holds the final say on such a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zigebe also criticised the focus on renaming at a time when the city faces significant financial pressures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor a city that is under national scrutiny and local expectations, with our finances dwindling, we can\u2019t make this a priority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will do little to change the lives of South Africans in the City <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

AIC councillor and Finance MMC Margaret Arnolds acknowledged that the renaming issue had come up at a recent lekgotla, indicating that it has been discussed informally within the administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FFP councillor Franco de Lange was even more direct in his opposition, calling the renaming effort an \u201cabsolute waste of taxpayers\u2019 money.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that such symbolic changes would do little to address South Africans’ real economic and social issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is not going to feed them, give them housing, or provide meaningful job opportunities,\u201d De Lange said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the controversy surrounding the name change, Lanseria\u2019s transformation into a major regional airport is still underway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since being sold to private investors in 1991, the airport has undergone numerous upgrades to accommodate larger aircraft and increased traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012, the airport was acquired by a consortium that included infrastructure investment firm Harith, women\u2019s empowerment group Nozala, and the Government Employees Pension Fund. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, expansion has accelerated, including the construction of a new runway and air traffic control tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new phase of upgrades, aimed at enhancing the airport\u2019s infrastructure and operational capacity, was unveiled in July 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These developments include an R500 million upgrade to taxiways, the construction of a new fuel depot, and the addition of maintenance and fixed-base operator facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These improvements will enable Lanseria to handle wide-bodied aircraft such as Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lanseria CEO Rampa Rammopo said<\/a> the upgrades would establish the airport as a \u201cone-stop shop\u201d for regional aviation services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new fuel farm will increase the airport\u2019s fuel storage capacity from one million litres to around seven million litres, significantly improving its resilience and reliability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese capital projects will increase the airport\u2019s efficiency and reliability, attracting international trade and logistics partners,\u201d Rammopo said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has noted plans to rename one of the city’s key international airports. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":825659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[2016,12057,853],"class_list":["post-825637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-city-of-johannesburg","tag-lanseria","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825637","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\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825637"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":825769,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825637\/revisions\/825769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}