Cape Town International's General Manager Deon Cloete showcased new thermal screening devices currently being trialled as a contactless way of screening those entering the airport during a site inspection on Friday.
Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, and City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos, visited the airport on Friday to assess the readiness for international travel.
The thermal cameras can potentially assist in tracking the temperature of high volumes of meeters and greeters walking through the airport terminals.
If it works, it would be a much-needed welcome as the country permits international travel next month.
Since the recommencement of inter-provincial leisure travel in August 2020, domestic flights to and from Cape Town have seen a considerable increase with the three airlines, Airlink, FlySafair and Mango, flying into and out of the airport.
These airlines provide a combined frequency of 314 domestic flights a week, which is an increase of 74 percent month-on-month. Together with the continued strict adherence to safety measures, it seems Cape Town International is ready to welcome more local travellers and international guests.
Cloete showcased the new thermal screening devices and shared other important information to show its readiness. Cloete said the airport operates an average of 50 flights a day with Friday being the busiest day.
"We have worked hard to ensure that the airport is able to safely facilitate passengers and are pleased with the results. Our focus remains on ensuring a safe and efficient airport experience. We continue to work with the airlines and the industry at large in order to build much needed passenger confidence," he said.
Maynier said the Western Cape is open and ready to welcome travellers from around the world.
"Since we reopened for inter-provincial travel, we have shown that our tourism and hospitality sector has implemented the necessary health guidelines and, together with the WTTC Safety Stamp, that we are "travel ready" in the Western Cape. We look forward to the opportunity to safely connect to more global destinations and welcome visitors to our province," he said.
Vos said his Tourism Task Team has devised and will implement the Tourism Bounce-Back-Strategy to ensure Cape Town’s tourism and related sectors get back on their feet as soon as possible.
This strategy includes the marketing and communications approach for our six pillars to visit, live, work, study, play and invest in Cape Town.
"Our domestic campaigns will target locals and market Cape Town as a quality and affordable destination. I am confident that with the initiatives we have developed, we will recover from this crisis, and come back stronger than before," he said.