OR Tambo International Airport
OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park on Johannesburg’s East Rand is the largest and busiest airport in Africa. It has all the equipment of a state-of-the-art airport, enabling it to handle more than 17-million passengers per year. About 18 000 people are employed at this facility.
OR Tambo International is Africa’s gateway to the world. No other airport in Africa can handle as many domestic and international flights. The world’s major airlines land at OR Tambo International and you can catch a flight to any regional and most international destinations from the airport. It is also home to the national carrier, South African Airways, and other privately-owned domestic and regional carriers, and boasts one of the world’s longest international runways, at more than 4 400m.
Driving into OR Tambo International Airport. Photo courtesy Gauteng Tourism Authority
The airport was founded as Jan Smuts International Airport in 1952, replacing Palmietfontein International Airport that had handled European flights to South Africa since 1945. With the country’s transition to democracy in 1994, the name was changed to Johannesburg International Airport. On October 27, 2006, the airport was renamed after anti-apartheid activist and former African National Congress president Oliver Tambo.
The airport underwent a major facelift ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ to increase handling capacity, parking and retail space.
OR Tambo has two terminals handling domestic and international flights. Terminal A handles international traffic and Terminal B domestic flights. Both terminals consist of two levels, with departures on the upper level and arrivals on the lower. The two terminals are interlinked.
There is no shortage of activity for visitors at OR Tambo International Airport. It easily compares with some malls in terms of shopping and dining facilities. Whether you are in transit or boarding a flight to any destination, you can pass time shopping in the retail stores and dining in restaurants in the terminal building.
South Africa has extremely good mobile network coverage and the country’s two leading mobile network operators offer cellphone rentals at the airport to visitors. There are also four currency booths where visitors can convert their money to the local rand on arrival or to other currencies on departure. Absa, Rennies, Master Currency and American Express all cash traveller’s cheques and convert some currencies.