South African airports among best in the world

King Shaka International Airport (KSIA), Cape Town International Airport (CTIA), and OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) all clinched awards at this year’s Skytrax World Airport Awards, with Cape Town being ranked the best in Africa.

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) revealed today that South African airports were represented at the Skytrax Awards, which offers coveted accolades for airports across the world and is seen as a global benchmark of airport excellence. 

KSIA was recognised as the Best Regional Airport in Africa. 

CTIA scooped the Skytrax Best Airport in Africa award for the ninth consecutive year and the Skytrax Best Airport Staff in Africa award for the fourth consecutive year. 

ORTIA secured the third position for Best Airport in Africa and also received accolades for Best Airport Hotel.  

“We are successfully navigating a period of substantial growth, surging passenger numbers and the introduction of new airlines,” said ACSA CEO Mpumi Mpofu. 

“We are grateful for the partnerships and support from all our stakeholders, without whom these accolades would not be possible.”

“These remarkable achievements highlight our resilience, dedication, and our team’s commitment to excellence.”

This year’s Skytrax World Airport Awards ceremony was held at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Frankfurt recently. 

Skytrax is an esteemed international air transport rating organisation established in 1989 and headquartered in London, UK.  

Skytrax introduced the World Airline and Airport Star Rating programme in 1999. This programme, a leading international rating system, evaluates airlines and airports based on product quality and staff service standards. 

The 5-Star Airport Rating, a prestigious mark of quality achievement and a global benchmark of airport excellence is awarded following thorough audit analysis and assessment of each airport’s product and frontline service standards. 

This year’s Awards event was attended by the Presidents, CEOs and top management from airports across the globe, recognising the importance of the Skytrax Awards. 

Pandemic recovery

South Africa’s airports were hard hit during the Covid-19 pandemic but have been steadily recovering.

Recently, CTIA processed more than 10 million passengers in the past financial year – the first time it hit this milestone since Covid-19.

CTIA achieved the milestone during the 2023/24 financial year. It was bolstered by processing more than 320,000 passengers in March.

ACSA regional general manager Mark Maclean said they had recorded a steady increase in passenger volumes this year.

“International and regional passenger volumes have consistently exceeded historic passenger volumes, including March 2024,” he said.