Fire disrupts travel at Cape Town International Airport

What was meant to be a routine afternoon departure turned into hours of confusion and uncertainty after a fire on the landing side of Cape Town International Airport forced the temporary suspension of international flights and disrupted domestic travel. When Linda Sobek, 43, and her husband arrived at the airport for her 2pm flight to Johannesburg, they were met with unexpected chaos. “We had a 2pm flight and it’s very dark here.

Even when you go buy snacks at Woolies we have to pay cash. Nothing is working in here,” she said. Sobek had been inCape Towncelebrating her husband’s birthday and was due to return home on Tuesday afternoon.

“We don’t know what will happen. There is a lady who has a connecting flight to Germany and she is stuck here,” she said. Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) confirmed that international departures were temporarily suspended after a fire broke out on the landside of the airport in the morning.

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Acsa spokesperson Ofentse Dijoe said the suspension was a precautionary and temporary measure to ensure passenger safety. Incoming international flights were diverted to alternative airports, while those that had already landed were being processed. “Passengers travelling on domestic departures or arriving on domestic flights are advised to check directly with their airlines and the Acsa mobile app for the latest flight information,” Dijoe said.

He added that the fire had been extinguished and that all passengers, staff and visitors were safe. “Passenger safety remains our priority. We understand that this incident may have caused concern, and we urge all passengers and visitors to follow security instructions and proceed to designated places of safety as directed by airport personnel,” he said. The fire also affected network and IT services, including airport Wi-Fi and other essential operational systems, resulting in payment systems and airline check-in processes being disrupted.

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