Lanseria International Airport’s long-term goal is to handle 18 million passengers annually, says Chief Operations Officer, Gavin Sayce.

Currently the airport services about 2,2 million passengers, while in 2006 it only averaged around 100 000 people per annum.

Sayce says, with ongoing development at the airport, some major projects have been completed in the past five years, including construction of a new runway, expansion of the taxiway system and its upgrade as well as a new control tower and fire station. Upgrades and extensions to the international section of the terminal building were also completed, and in 2017 construction started on a new multi-storey parkade with a retail concourse.

“Completing this upgrade is the focus for 2018 and we are planning to see it commissioned by no later than early November,” says Sayce. “This is a R220 million development that will add just under 1 000 parking bays.”

At least R1 billion has been invested in the airport in the past five years, a move welcomed by the Gauteng provincial government, which sees the airport as the central pivot for a new airport city in the north-west of the province. An investment of R9 billion is planned for industrial, commercial and residential projects around the airport, ultimately developing Lanseria Airport City.

The corporate sector remains integral to its business plan, says Sayce. “We have some meeting and conferencing space available at the airport but it is still on a very small scale. We are hoping to create more of these facilities in the new parkade but that is not definite as yet. There is also talk of a hotel development at the airport that will have extensive conference and meeting facilities, but that is still in the very early stages of discussion.”