National shutdown: airport contingency plans

Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has reiterated an earlier statement that it has contingency plans in place to mitigate any disruption during the planned national shutdown on Monday, March 20.

“The legislative instruments are in place and will be exercised to ensure members of that public are safe at the airports, which have designated areas for peaceful protest,” said an Acsa spokesperson in a press statement.

The call for a national shutdown by some political parties, trade unions and civic organisations suggests that the action will affect all services, businesses and public facilities.

Acsa noted, however, that all nine airports across Acsa’s national network would continue to operate normally and there was currently no indication that flights or other services would be disrupted by the proposed shutdown.

“The security cluster, comprising all national security agencies and the Acsa Security and Operations Management team, have met and all contingency plans are in place to ensure continued operations at all airports. All agencies are on high alert and patrols will be in place to protect the national key points,” said Acsa in a statement.

Travellers and the travel trade are advised to consult the Acsa Mobile App (download on Google play store, Apple App store or Huawei AppGallery) or contact the airlines directly to confirm travel arrangements  or for any further updates and developments.