Power supply outage at Cape Town International Airport disrupts ...

On Sunday night, no flights were able to land at or depart from Cape Town International Airport for several hours due to a power supply challenge that affected runway lights, airside fire rescue and air traffic navigation services.

This was announced by Airports Company SA (Acsa) just before 9.30pm on Sunday. Acsa said at the time that a team of technicians and specialists was working to establish the cause of the power outage and resolve the issue.

Flights unable to land at Cape Town International Airport were diverted to other airports in Acsa’s network, while departures were halted — some while they were on the runway.

Izu Sichinga, who was headed to Cape Town on Sunday night, said his flight circled Cape Town International for half an hour before being diverted to Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha.

Sichinga, a PhD criminology candidate at the University of Cape Town, said his FlySafair flight took off from Joburg at 6pm and was meant to land in Cape Town at 8.20pm, “but closer to Cape Town the captain told us there was a blackout at Cape Town affecting air traffic control and the runway. So we circled for a good 20 to 30 minutes before rerouting to PE [Gqeberha].”

And the Captain just gave us an update that there is still a blackout at Cape Town International Airport ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/86Mos7HMKe

— Izu Sichinga (He/Him/His) ????????????????????????????️‍???? (@Izu_musiq) July 28, 2024

At midnight, while Sichinga’s plane was parked in a waiting bay at Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport, the FlySafair captain said engineers in Cape Town were testing one last fault and they might be able to depart for Cape Town soon.

“I don’t want to get your hopes up too much at this stage. It’s the most positive news we’ve had this evening,” said the captain, noting that the plane’s toilets were almost full and asking the passengers to use them sparingly.

FlySafair said in a travel update that its operations centre had been alerted to a power outage at Cape Town International Airport at about 8.30pm on Sunday. “At this stage, we are engaging with Acsa to understand the cause and expected duration of the outage,” said the airline on Sunday night, noting “this affects all airlines operating to and from this airport”.

Several FlySafair flights going from Joburg to Cape Town were diverted to Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport, while two flights from Joburg to Cape Town returned to Joburg and landed at OR Tambo International Airport.

“Significant delays are to be expected,” noted FlySafair. “A number of aircraft from several airlines have been diverted and they will all need to be afforded opportunities to complete their journeys into and out of the airport in sequence.”

The airline said once it got information from Acsa about when Cape Town International Airport would be operational, its teams would plan new departures and arrange landing and departure slots from the airport. 

A concerned social media user, Phenyo, who wanted to give only his first name, told Daily Maverick he had a friend flying from Joburg to Cape Town on an SAA flight who was still stuck aboard the plane in Joburg.

At 11.30pm, Acsa confirmed that some circuits were back on and that United Airlines, Delta and South African Airways flights had successfully departed.

It said Acsa technicians were working to restore more circuits for landings and apologised for the inconvenience. DM