Airports Company South Africa issued a belated apology on Tuesday, 10 December 2024, for the recent “refuelling disruptions” at OR Tambo International Airport, which affected about 177 flights and 22,073 passengers between 9am and 1pm on Monday. The apology fell flat though as passengers remained dissatisfied, citing the company’s poor communication as a significant contributor to their frustration.
The drive shaft that didn’t
According to Acsa, the disruptions were caused by a drive shaft that sheared, preventing the pumping of jet fuel from storage tanks to the aprons — which enables the refuelling of aircraft. The repair work was conducted in compliance with rigorous safety procedures, and the system was restored to normal operating levels by 1pm on the same day. But that translated to trucks refuelling planes one at a time, while airlines, luggage handlers and airport staff faced massive backlogs.
Airports Company South Africa, a state-owned enterprise which is the owner and operator of South African airports, admitted that the effects of the disruption went beyond the initial 177 flights and 22,073 passengers.
“The total impact on the company’s network was 483 flights and 49,429 passengers as well as 31 flights cancelled for the day. This took place against an estimated total number of 1,500 flights and 110,000 passengers, which are normally processed through Airports Company South Africa’s network daily. Therefore, about a third of the flights were impacted and about half the daily passengers were impacted,” Airports Company South Africa stated.
The company has acknowledged that the incident was a result of a technical failure and has assured the public that a thorough investigation will be conducted to determine the root causes of the incident. The investigation will also identify measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The drive shaft that caused all the drama. (Photo: Supplied by Airports Company SA)
Aaron Munetsi, the chief executive of the Airlines Association of South Africa, said the organisation met regularly with Airports Company South Africa and other state aviation service providers on various operational, planning and tariff/user charges issues.
“We are gravely concerned over Monday’s breakdown, the way it was managed and the inadequate contingency measures,” he said. Munetsi pointed out that the Fuel Forum, which includes Airlines Association of South Africa and Airports Company South Africa was established to monitor and address fuel stocks at the main airports in the country.
“Monday’s crisis was not due to insufficient fuel stock but the result of a mechanical failure of a piece of critical equipment that blocked fuel from flowing from the storage depot into the refuelling system,” he pointed out.
Airports Company SA’s next steps
In addition to the apology and a preliminary incident report that is being finalised subject to the laboratory analysis of the metal pieces by their engineering team, Airports Company South Africa has provided an update on the measures being taken to improve the reliability and redundancy of the fuel system. These measures include:
- A new twenty-inch jet fuel line, which is 1.8km long, from the tank farm to the aprons. Construction is expected to start in March 2025 and will be completed a year later.
- The creation of a bypass mechanism, which is expected to be completed by February 2025.
Airports Company South Africa’s chief executive Mpumi Mpofu stated that she is “happy to report that the refuelling challenges have been resolved and the airport has been operating as normal since yesterday afternoon”.
However, despite Airports Company South Africa’s assurance that normal operations have resumed, concerns remain about the airport’s ability to handle technical failures. According to Linden Birns, the managing director of Plane Talking, a company that has provided crisis communications training and support to airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, and government agencies worldwide for over 30 years: “OR Tambo International Airport is a key piece of economic infrastructure, not just for Gauteng or South Africa, but for the entire sub-region. Being able to promptly land, park, disembark, unload, refuel, clean, replenish, service, take on board new passengers and cargo in time to depart on schedule requires careful, synchronised choreography. When one actor in that ballet is unable to perform, it creates chaos, which is what we saw on Monday,” he said.
Birns added that the gold standard for key infrastructure was to have more than one back-up contingency plan in place to minimise any disruptions.
“Airlines and their customers pay statutory service charges to Airports Company South Africa (and the other monopoly state aviation service providers) and are rightly entitled to expect commensurate services. For the most part Airports Company South Africa is a world-standard airport operator and has won well-deserved accolades for its facilities. Mechanical equipment will always be fallible and prone to breakdown, and people understand that, but Airports Company South Africa let the industry and the country down on Monday by its inadequate contingency planning, and above all, through its poor communication.
‘It was a breakdown of crisis proportions’
“This was not a ‘refuelling challenge’. It was a breakdown of crisis proportions and they ought to have been more frank, forthcoming and timeous with announcements and updates to travellers, the airlines, and businesses relying on air cargo transport,” Birns said.
Passengers were no less critical of the communications procedure on Monday. A traveller, who was flying with her husband and children, shared her frustrating experience with Daily Maverick. Despite arriving at the airport between 2.3opm and 2.45pm, the family was not informed about the delays until they reached their boarding gate.
“By that time there were already delays, all the airlines knew there were delays… the airline did not communicate in any way, shape or form with us on WhatsApp or on the application that they were experiencing major delays… The first time we heard anything is when we went to the boarding gates, and even then they did not say for how long.”
The family’s flight ultimately departed at 10pm.
Another passenger who also experienced a lengthy delay recounted a harrowing experience of being stuck in the plane on the runway for four hours, waiting to take off.
“We were supposed to fly at 9.30am. We sat on the plane for four hours and landed in Cape Town at 3.30pm. Our pilot even said it’s a dog show (at the airport) because passengers wanted to disembark. We had some (passengers) leave and come back because it was worse in the airport with all the planes grounded,’’ she told Daily Maverick.
