Johannesburg - When the news broke last week that OR Tambo International Airport in Joburg had been voted the best in Africa, there were – predictably – quite a few moans on news sites and social networks from those who clearly believe we cannot do anything right in this country.
As someone who flies in and out of ORT regularly – on both domestic and international flights – I can honestly say it does compare favourably with some of the best in the world.
I have never had a piece of luggage go missing, or been broken into. Reports of baggage theft – and complaints from our readers – have declined markedly over the past couple of years. There has been a noticeable improvement in security there.
As for design and efficiency, ORT can go toe to toe with the top European airports and is better than some I have experienced in the US. (My suitcase handle, for example, was broken by baggage handlers at New Yorks’ JFK – despite the fact it was retracted).
I think that Airports Company SA (Acsa) has, like SAA, become a popular whipping boy. I have flown SAA many times and have never had a bad experience. In fact, my best flight to London so far was on SAA and the worst (by a long way) was on Virgin.
When I do defend Acsa, people look at me with incredulity. But, stop, remove your blinkers and consider: ORT (ditto with Cape Town and King Shaka in Durban) is big, bright, airy and clean. It is well signposted and its people flows have been logically designed. It has a world-class train connection (Gautrain) and plenty of parking (albeit on the expensive side, I must admit).
The drop-off zones work very well and the airport restaurants are good. Security checkpoints seem to work efficiently and the time taken traversing them is less than in many other airports. Perhaps the biggest problem at ORT is that some of the people working there can be rude and unfriendly. But you only notice this because the majority are just the opposite.
Let me share a few anecdotes about international airports to show you why I am not such a critic of our local operations.
In Naples, I had to wait in a queue for 30 minutes before I even reached the check-in counter. There were only about 20 people ahead of me (French tourists also flying Air France, who were understandably irate at the slow service).
The plane was 20 minutes late (no big deal) but once aboard, it became clear there was a problem. When the captain came on the intercom to explain the problem, it was scarcely believable: two passengers had boarding passes for the same seat. How that can happen in this digital age is beyond me.
Eventually, after much hand wringing, two people agreed to get off the flight (which was full).
Their bags were offloaded and, finally, we pushed back – to the applause of the French businessmen aboard and the chagrin of some American tourists who were bound to miss their connecting flight home.
The aircraft was trundling along the apron when suddenly it came to a screeching halt. The captain again: “Sorry, we can’t take off now because the ground staff have put too much fuel in the plane and we are too heavy.”
And, because you can’t simply tap Gennaro’s excess benzina out of the tanks, we had to park at the end of the runway revving the plane’s engine for 20 minutes until sufficient fuel had been burnt off that we were within an acceptable gross take-off weight.
True story.
Then, flying from Heathrow to Amsterdam earlier this year to catch our return flight to Joburg, we became increasingly dismayed as our push-back time came and went (the transit times at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport are normally reasonably tight).
Then the KLM pilot came on to explain that all the luggage had to be removed and re-packed, because the ground handlers had packed it incorrectly and disturbed the centre of gravity of the aircraft.
Another true story.
And both of them, incidentally, like nothing I have ever encountered anywhere in Africa.
Schiphol is a hectic airport but is well designed and generally works well. And the people seem to have a friendly human side – even those in security. This I discovered last week, on my way back from Amsterdam, when a glitch in the fancy KLM online check-in system allowed me to get an electronic boarding pass (sent by SMS to my phone) and proceed through security but somehow placed my two colleagues (with printed boarding passes) on standby.
The system could not find me (we were were booked on the same booking code) and I was summoned back to the KLM desk at the gate. The problem was that the desk was on the other side of security. However, a pleasant and flexible Dutch security man allowed me through and then to come back without having to go through security twice.
Try that in New York or at LAX (Los Angeles) and you’ll probably get whisked into a back cubicle for the third degree before you can say “terrorist” or “my flight’s leaving…”
But, there is still something heart-warming about getting off the plane at ORT and knowing you’re home – and I particularly like Standard Bank’s big poster ads on the jetway from the plane which say “They call it Africa; we call it home”.
Then, it’s down to immigration where, nine times out of 10, you will be greeted (if not with a smile then in a civil, professional way) and sometimes have a great, energetic conversation with the officer in the booth.
I’ve very seldom had to wait more than 15 minutes after clearing immigration for the arrival of my luggage – and then it’s off and out.
You can’t ask much more from an airport. But, maybe you think I am being too lenient… Let me know. – [email protected]
Saturday Star