Thousands of passengers were stranded inside the terminals at Cape Town International Airport after a fire.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/ Independent Newspapers
While power and most systems have been restored, some manual processing remains in place at Cape Town International Airport following a fire on Tuesday.
The fire at the International Inner Lane (Northern Service Yard) was swiftly extinguished with no injuries reported.
“In line with established safety protocols, power across the terminal was temporarily isolated to allow for thorough safety assessments,” Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said on Wednesday.
Currently, most check-in systems are fully operational, however, Lift Airlines continues to process passengers manually.
The Border Management Authority (BMA) and Customs are using manual systems at International Arrivals. Passengers can expect extended wait times.
International departures resumed Tuesday evening, and all aircraft that landed during the incident were processed. A limited number of international flights were diverted during the disruption.
Baggage processing is currently manual with delays in delivery expected.
Domestic travel operations have returned to normal.
The International Arrivals corridor remains closed and meeters and greeters have been advised to follow signage to the temporary area at the International Inner Lane (Ground Floor).
Passengers who were unable to collect their luggage Tuesday may retrieve their bags at the Northern side of the temporary meeters and greeters entrance.
Passengers are advised to contact their airline’s ground handling agent before arriving:
To avoid unnecessary congestion at the terminal, all passengers are strongly encouraged to check the ACSA App for real-time updates and contact their airline directly to confirm flight status before traveling to the airport.
“Updates will be issued as more information becomes available from the ongoing investigation into the cause of the fire,” ACSA said.
Cape Times