Major upgrades coming to Cape Town International Airport: What passengers need to know

Frequent flyers in South Africa should prepare for significant disruptions as several airports, including Cape Town International Airport (CTIA), are set to undergo extensive renovations and upgrades as part of a R21.7 billion infrastructure development plan by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) over the next five years.

During a briefing held at CTIA on Sunday, ACSA provided an overview of the airport's operational performance following the festive travel season, which spanned from the end of October to the end of January. 

During that period, there have been 11,693,874 passengers who have travelled during the CTIA.

CTIA led the three international airports in recovery from pre-COVID-19 levels, with 98% in 2024/25. O.R Tambo International Airport recorded an 89% recovery, while King Shaka International Airport ended the year on 83% recovery. 

The busiest day was the December 28, which had 39,214 passengers pass through the airport, and in December, it was calculated that 81,2% of the flights during December were on time.

Acting Regional General Manager, Thabo Phateng, said that CTIA had its best peak season that it has ever had.

“In the previous years, we have seen several challenges and those challenges were dealt with easily, but this time around, I think we were better prepared. What made it easier is because we were better. We took lessons from previous years - starting from making sure that we've got proper manpower on site, from different levels of management to technicians and so on.

“We also had better space on site as well for maintenance purposes, so they could respond to issues,” he said.

Renovations and upgrades at CTIA will begin in March, when the airport will start work on upgrading the domestic arrivals. Some of the other renovations that are expected over the coming years include a new runway, expanded domestic and international terminals, and an upgraded security system.

CEO Mpumi Mpofu said: “We really are expecting that passenger movement in the airport will be somewhat disrupted, but if we show you how we've done for instance the ablution facilities in the airports...we phase, and we schedule the works in a way that allows us to close off particular areas while we work on them. 

“We also direct passengers to create an alternative route to decant, and create alternative spaces - either temporary shelters or temporary facilities.” 

 She added that passengers will be redirected to ensure a smooth flow of traffic, with work proceeding on one side at a time,

"We do the best we can. We are aware of the situation, but really, when we say construction site, we're not suggesting that there will be dust everywhere, except that we left cordoned off all the areas and made sure that the passenger flow remains confined and uninterrupted, but maybe slightly confined,” she said.

Phateng added that the expansions they are busy with are at the request of the airlines themselves.

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