Travellers should prepare for delays and disruptions as a massive storm is predicted to rock the Western Cape over the next few days.
The South African Weather Service issued a severe weather warning for flash flooding and gale to strong gale force winds in the Western Cape for Wednesday and Thursday morning.
“Currently we are advising passengers to get to the airport early and to prepare for delays in travel time when in Cape Town itself,” said Michelle Jolley, Corporate Marketing Leader at Flight Centre Travel Group.
“We are following the advice of the airlines and will let affected passengers know should there be any flight cancellations or major delays.”
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has advised that airports in centres that are expected to bear the brunt of the storm such as Cape Town, George, East London and Port Elizabeth have completed a host of preparations and are equipped to deal with the possible impact of the storm.
In addition, ACSA has warned that in the event of flight delays at one airport there could be a knock-on effect at other airports across the country.
FlySafair’s Kirby Gordon says the airline has not planned to cancel any flights. “The intention is to operate our schedule as far as is safe a feasible. We are of course conscious that there may be some possible disruptions as a result of the weather, so of course we will have our standby aircraft prepped to pick up any schedules that may be impacted by delayed aircraft,” he said.
Also SAA has not cancelled any flights as yet. Spokesperson Tlali Tlali said: “We are monitoring the situation and are in liaison with the relevant stakeholders regarding the expected adverse weather conditions. The anticipated conditions have not led to any flight cancellations. Should the situation change, we will make appropriate announcements.”