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The expansion of the Cape Winelands Airport on the outskirts of Durbanville is well underway, and it is set to rival Cape Town International.

For the ninth year in a row, Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) has been crowned the Best Airport in Africa and is also getting a glow-up of its own soon, with a monumental R21.7 billion expansion injection (which is also for OR Tambo and four other SA airports).

But, according to the South African entrepreneur and managing director of rsa.AERO Nick Ferguson, the plan for the private airport group now includes signing a 15-year agreement with German airline Lufthansa Group and setting itself up to become a “destination alternate” airport for travellers in Cape Town, rivalling CTIA in capacity and accommodating more air traffic.

The ambitious vision for the Winelands airport is nothing short of spectacular, featuring a colossal R7-billion expansion project that will unveil a Code F runway stretching an impressive 3,500 metres. This monumental runway is designed to welcome the grand Airbus A380, an aviation giant that Cape Town International currently cannot accommodate.

 

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As part of the grand expansion, the airport will feature a vibrant plaza, a luxurious hotel, a state-of-the-art conference center, and exquisite wine-tasting facilities. Remarkably, it is set to operate completely off-grid, harnessing solar power and biogas generated from chicken manure to sustainably provide water and electricity for its operations.

Ferguson said airlines have only ever really had Cape Town International and O.R. Tambo in Johannesburg as airport hubs in the country, with travelling between airports resulting in significant fuel costs for airlines.

“We live on an island in Cape Town, and we have traffic at our airport. We are currently 1 270km away from Johannesburg. Any bigger plane has to designate an alternate airport. If they arrive at a destination and there is a problem, they will need to have to fuel to go to another airport with the infrastructure and facilities to accept it. But the distance between Cape Town and Johannesburg is the same between London and Berlin.”

Thus, Ferguson said there could be significant industry savings once the Cape Winelands Airport is operational – currently set for 2027.

A model was created using independent research, which found the savings for the industry in that year could amount to an estimated R1.2 billion. This would be from a saving of 110 million kilogrammes worth of fuel, as well as a saving of around 60 million kilograms of carbon emissions.

Ferguson added that more airlines could be accommodated at the “destination alternate” instead of being concentrated at Cape Town International, with the new airport aiming to have 25% of the local market share with one in every two passengers using its facilities by 2050.

“Certain smaller planes cannot be accommodated at the [Cape Town International] airport during peak times, so we are making space to accommodate them […] We can’t put all our eggs in one basket. If there is a failure at Cape Town International, we will be stuck with locals. This city relies on tourism,” he said.

 

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He emphasised that the airport will cater to a distinct market segment compared to Cape Town International. Additionally, he confirmed that the group is in discussions with several major airlines, all of which have shown enthusiastic support for the project.

Up and at it!

[source:news24]