O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest and busiest on the African continentis located at Ekurhuleni in South Africa's economic capital, Gauteng, from where it boasts a rich and long history. In the last financial year alone, this aviation gateway to Africa saw around 21 million passengers pass through, making it by far the busiest and most important gateway in the country. Since its humble beginnings in 1952, the airport has changed its name twice: from Jan Smuts Airport to Johannesburg International in 1994 and then to O.R. Tambo International Airport, renamed on 27 October 2006 in honour of the late, great defender of freedoms Oliver Reginald Tambo.
Building strong relationships with both national and international brands is considered extremely important to the airport's success.
The airport serves airlines from five continents and plays a key role in serving the regional and local air transport needs of South African and international travellers. This transport hub brings together the key elements required for a world-class commercial airport: location, accessibility and connectivity. It is conveniently located in South Africa's commercial and industrial heartlandIt has an excellent road infrastructure linking it to the national network.
Since 1996, O.R. Tambo International Airport has been registering the largest traffic on the continentabove Cairo International Airport. In addition to its 170 retail outlets, it has first-class hotels on site, so travellers have everything they need for a pleasant airport experience within easy reach.
South Africa's struggle against apartheid brought hard times to the airport in the 1980s, when many countries stopped trading with the country. Sanctions meant that South African Airways was restricted from flying rights by most African countries and consequently had to circumnavigate the West African region. This required the use of specially modified aircraft, such as the Boeing 747SP, until sanctions were lifted.
AEROTROPOLIS
Airports Company South Africa, which owns nine airports in the country, including the O.R. Tambo International Airport, is making a major effort to offer a national concept they have called aerotropolis. We spoke to its general manager, Ms. Bongiwe Pityi, who enlightened us in detail.
"Aerotropolis is not just about having an airport at the centre of economic activity, drawing on aeronautical and non-aeronautical sources of revenue, but also about having an airport at the centre of economic activity. creating value and more sustainable long-term growth for the company and its shareholders within a 20 km radius around our airports," specifies Pityi.
"We estimate that by 2025 our airports will play a key role in shaping the cities and regions they serve, enabling the development and integration of places where people will live, learn, work and play". Central and West African airports offer the advantage of shorter distances for passenger and freight transport for logistics companies and travellers.
"In this regard, the implementation of Airports Company South Africa's vision for 2025 is vital. As part of this vision, we aim to ensuring efficient management of airportsand the development and expansion of our footprint (through business development).
Although geographically located far to the south of the continent, the company believes that the specialised application of the concept of aerotropolis in South Africa will attract business and make its airports the airports of choice (thanks to dedicated cargo storage facilities and multimodal transport options), as they provide the best value in line with global value chain trends.
Working closely with the Ekurhuleni Municipality, the modernisation of the airport and its facilities should enhance economic growth, reduce business costs, improve skills development, further integrate the public transport network, contribute positively to integrated urban planning and improve management and logistics networks.
An area of special interest for O.R. Tambo International Airport is the logistics and freight transport development to ensure the proliferation of logistics and courier companies. "In close cooperation with the city of Ekurhuleni and the Gauteng province, we want to enhance the development of independent terminal freight facilities," says Pityi.
LEADERSHIP
Who is Bongiwe Pityi, the woman who runs the continent's busiest airport?
After 17 years with Airports Company South Africa, Bongiwe Pityi leads a team of approximately 1,200 direct employees based at the airport. A further 35,000 people also work at the airport, but are employed by the thousands of service providers who operate outside the airport. These include retailers, airlines and ground handling companies, to name but a few.
In 2014, Pityi became the first woman to head an airport in Africa. Having successfully held various positions of a different nature, such as general manager and project manager, Pityi leveraged her industry expertise, along with a law degree, to take on a senior role at Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. There she worked as deputy director of airport operations in the momentous period leading up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Upon her return to South Africa in 2014, Pityi was appointed CEO of O.R. Tambo International Airport, where she is responsible for managing all stakeholders (i.e. airlines, government agencies, ground handling companies and concessionaires) and ensuring that all aviation safety management and facilitator regulations are strictly adhered to.
Having practised law for five years before joining the aviation industry, Pityi believes that training as a lawyer has equipped her with an appreciation of the laws and regulations in place, which is useful for her current position.
THE ECONOMY AND THIRD PARTY PROCUREMENT
A strategic objective of Airports Company South Africa is to increase the share of non-fare revenue to 55 % of total revenue by 2020. Non-fare revenues include dedicated retail space at the airport, parking, advertising and property, car rental and other ancillary services.
For Airports Company South Africa, procurement from appropriately qualified black-owned and black-led companies is key to helping transform a historically white-dominated economy.
"In tendering and procurement, we have reached the point where black-owned companies are being replaced by similar companies when contracts come to an end. In our view, this is a clear indication of the progress we are making," says Pityi.
"It also shows that the company's transformation policy is benefiting the widest possible range of people, rather than allocating contracts to the same old faces every time the tenders come out".
Airports Company South Africa awarded 44 retailer contracts worth R210 million in the 2016 financial year. The company has promoted the emergence and development of 1 107 small, medium and large enterprises through its procurement practices in the last financial year.
At O.R. Tambo International Airport, the establishment of the strong relationships with both national and international brands is considered extremely important for the airport's success. This is evidenced by the varied offer of the 170 retail companies operating at the airport.
TECHNOLOGY
The R.O. Tambo fully subscribes to the IATA Fast Travel programme concept and has successfully passed its own baggage delivery tests, which will be introduced into the system for the benefit of passengers as soon as approval is received from the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).
In November 2016, the airport was the first airport in Africa to implement the smart security checkpoint that digitises the security screening process, streamlines passenger transit through security checkpoints and further enhances security through the use of state-of-the-art scanners.
The pilot implementation phase of the intelligent security system was recently completed and its performance is currently being evaluated. The new checkpoint includes a new conveyor belt system for checking carry-on baggage and a new scanning arch for individual passengers. With the new system, the need to search passengers who set off security alarms will virtually disappear, thanks to the fact that the scanner technology is more effective in detecting objects that should not be carried in or on baggage. There will also be less frequent need to remove laptops from their sleeves and switch them on.
And how will the latest technology contribute to the improvement of the airport?
"The impact of technology is fundamental to the future of airport business. We are moving from being an airport company that runs on technology to a digital company that runs airports. We have undertaken several initiatives aimed at making this ideal a reality," says Pityi.
"Among them, some customer-oriented digital projectsas well as projects that ensure that back-end systems successfully meet the challenges of digital transformation. In practical terms, this means putting a seamless experience at the service of people using airports. In other words, making it possible to buy your ticket from home, book parking, deliver your luggage through a self-service mechanism and get on the plane as autonomously as possible".
SUSTAINABILITY
O.R. Tambo International Airport is one of four South African airports that have been granted the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA)This is in line with Airports Company South Africa's strategic priority objective to increase sustainability and reduce its environmental impact.
Achieving ACA Tier 1 accreditation is an important milestone on the road to fully neutralising its footprint. The company's goal is to achieve Airport Carbon Accreditation for all nine of its facilities and to continue working to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment.
CUSTOMER-ORIENTED
O.R. Tambo International Airport continues to strive to provide a pleasant and unparalleled experience for passengers travelling to and from the airport. Its record of high customer ratings in independent surveys ranks the airport among the world-class airports. The promotion of South Africa as a tourist destination is also a priority on which the airport works closely with its business partners.
"Customers of virtually all ages and demographics are increasingly digitally savvy and familiar users, so much so that they expect, and even demand, the most extraordinary digital experience possible," says Pityi.
Despite the unfavourable economic conditions in South Africa, O.R. Tambo International Airport has managed to maintain its reputation as the first gateway to Africa, which is certainly profitable and invites optimism. Under the strong leadership of Bongiwe Pityi, it continues to make steady progress with its sights set on achieving its 2025 targets.
