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Passengers grew increasingly uneasy as departure and arrival notice boards reflected indefinite delays at Cape Town International Airport. Picture: SHAUN VAN COLLER
Passengers grew increasingly uneasy as departure and arrival notice boards reflected indefinite delays at Cape Town International Airport. Picture: SHAUN VAN COLLER

The mood shifted from one of irritation to anxiety, then mass confusion as one flight after another was cancelled and luggage taken off aircraft due to a power failure that shut down fuel supplies for hours at Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) on Wednesday.

“It was quite an ordeal. Staff were in the dark, people’s mood changed from calm to irritation,” said Shaun van Coller, director of Lockup Technologies, who was booked on a 5pm flight home to Johannesburg. He said the airport was unusually hot as if the air-conditioning was not working.

Irritation turned to uncertainty when passengers saw flights being delayed indefinitely and then cancelled. 

“I started noticing that two or three flights were delayed and went to the boarding line on time, but then things got weird [as] more flights were delayed indefinitely, including my flight,” said Van Coller.

Passengers plot their next move as flights were delayed.
Passengers plot their next move as flights were delayed.
Image: Shaun van Coller

“One of the three flights delayed indefinitely went to cancelled status, but they were also at the same boarding gate where I was supposed to go. It was mass confusion, they started taking people’s luggage off the planes.”

Airports Company SA (Acsa) spokesperson Terence Delomoney told eNCA the airport had experienced a power failure on a cable that feeds into the fuel supply and other areas of the airport. Operations were switched to generator power. “When the [electrical] repair was supposed to be completed, we also had a failure on the generators and this resulted in a delay [in] being able to supply fuel for about three hours. Some airlines cancelled flights.”

He said some airlines scheduled extra flights on Thursday to assist stranded passengers.

Van Coller was fortunate to stay overnight at a friend’s home in Cape Town and had to book another flight, which only departs on Friday.

He was unsure whether he would be reimbursed as he did not choose travel insurance.

In a statement on Thursday, Acsa said power has been fully restored following disruptions caused by a damaged electrical cable.

“Acsa can confirm that CTIA is operating as normal. We acknowledge the impact of the disruption on airport operations and thank passengers, airlines and stakeholders for their patience. All systems are now functioning as expected and fuelling operations have resumed without issue.

“To strengthen operational resilience, Acsa has secured two additional backup generators to ensure uninterrupted operations during critical periods and reduce the risk of future disruptions,” Acsa said. 

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