International and domestic passenger volumes at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport are steadily recovering to pre-pandemic levels. This had been largely driven by a boost over the festive season and a strong start to the year, said Airports Company South Africa at a media conference yesterday (March 28).

Domestic passenger volumes at the airport totalled 720 816 in February this year, which reflects a 77% recovery rate when compared with the same month in 2019, slightly down from January when domestic passenger volumes totalled 731 188 (a 78% recovery rate). December last year saw 837 611 domestic passengers (a 79% recovery rate).

International passenger volumes are recovering at a slightly slower rate. In February, the total number of international passengers stood at 486 422, which is a 72% recovery rate compared to the same month in 2019.

In January, OR Tambo recorded a total number of 582 372 international passengers (a 71% recovery rate), while in December last year, the airport recorded 646 847 international passengers (a 70% recovery rate).

“We are pleased with the rate of recovery for both domestic and international passengers at OR Tambo International Airport, with the recovery to near pre-pandemic numbers being spurred on by the increased demand during peak season,” said General Manager Jabulani Khambule.

“We are also satisfied that our response to the peak season passenger volumes was adequate and allowed us to comfortably deal with the increased numbers of travellers passing through our airport. Thanks to our Integrated Peak Season Plan, we were able to ensure that we had sufficient resources on hand to meet demand and be able to deliver of a world-class passenger experience,” he added.

In terms of the upcoming Easter holiday next week, Khambule revealed that the airport would deploy a similar Integrated Peak Season Plan to cope with the surge in passenger numbers.

Asked when OR Tambo would recover to pre-COVID levels, Khambule referred to a recent statement by Iata that Africa’s passenger traffic would only recover to those levels in 2025.