Johannesburg, 20 March 2020 – Airports Company South Africa has, together with other relevant aviation authorities, implemented air travel restrictions as detailed by the Minister of Transport in the International Air Services (Covid19 Restrictions on The Movement Of Air Travel) Regulations, 2020.
These regulations provide for a ban of passenger air travel from the countries deemed high risk as per the President’s declaration in terms of the National Disaster.
Countries which are deemed as high risk include:
- China,
- France,
- Germany,
- Iran,
- Italy,
- South Korea,
- Spain,
- The United Kingdom, and
- The United States of America.
In terms of the travel restrictions, the following measures are now being implemented:
- Should an airline from a high-risk country land in South Africa, ATNS together with Airports Company South Africa will follow the process that they have in place where the aircraft will be redirected to a remote parking apron and the relevant authorities will be notified.
- Foreign nationals from high-risk countries will not be allowed to disembark the aircraft.
- The inbound crew will be screened and quarantined.
- South African citizens returning from high-risk countries will be clinically assessed and immediately quarantined.
The following Airports Company South Africa airports will manage scheduled flights from high-risk countries;
- O.R. Tambo International Airport
- Cape Town International Airport
- King Shaka International Airport
Charter Operators will be re-routed to international airports that have the Port Health capabilities to manage a suspected case The following Airports Company South Africa airports have the necessary capacity and will be ready to handle charter flights:
- O.R. Tambo International Airport
- King Shaka International Airport
- Upington International Airport
- Bram Fischer International Airport
- Port Elizabeth International Airport
- Cape Town International Airport
Since the travel ban announcements, some airlines have already started cancelling their scheduled flights and have notified the affected passengers accordingly.
Airports Company South Africa regrets any inconvenience caused to both crew and travellers on the first day of the implementation of these travel restrictions, however minimizing the spread of COVID-19 for all nationalities is being prioritized.
Passengers are encouraged to contact their airlines for details related to their specific flights.
