O.R. Tambo Airport
Stress, tiredness and irritation after a long aeroplace or car (if you have been stuck in Joburg traffic) disappears once the revamped O.R. Tambo airport’s interior elevates your mood. The mall and surrounds have an instant relaxing effect on weary travellers who may need to wait for a connecting flight or lift. There are ample restaurants and shops in this primary airport for domestic and international travel to and from South Africa. As Africa’s busiest airport, it is constantly buzzing and in 2007 nearly 20 million passengers passed through its doors. Statistics show that in the 2007 financial year at O.R Tambo International Airport 8,910,696 passengers departed and there were 105,774 arriving air traffic movements and it obtained fourth place in the Best Airport ACI-ASQ Awards for Middle-East and Africa.
Not resting on these laurels, OR Tambo International Airport is undergoing a R3 billion overhaul to gear up for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, ever-increasing passenger numbers and new-generation aircraft. The future is bright for this airport and it is fitting that it has been named after relentless lobbyist for South Africa’s freedom. In October 2006 the country’s flagship airport was renamed as a tribute to one of the new South Africa’s most important founding fathers. Oliver Reginald Tambo, who was president of the African National Congress (ANC) for 30 years and spent much of this time in exile and was described as one of the people that held the anti-apartheid movement together. Now this airport is frequented by all races, generations and ethnicities in a new South Africa.
