Cape Winelands Airport is no threat to Cape Town International, says Acsa CEO Mpumi Mpofu

Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) CEO Mpumi Mpofu said that he was not concerned about the new Cape Winelands Airport that is set to be launched in 2027. 

The CEO told the media on Tuesday that the new airport will not pose a threat to Cape Town International and emphasised that the two airports can operate and co-exist with each other. 

Moreover, Mpofu said that she hoped that the airports could complement each other.

"We are not the exclusive owners of all the airports in the country,” she added.

“When a perception is created that Acsa will prevent airports with licences from developing because Acsa thinks (doing so is) going to undermine it, it can never be so,” Mpofu said. 

The Cape Winelands Airport, scheduled to open in 2027, will be located near Durbanville and is set to offer both local and international flights once operational.

The Winelands Airport plans to start operating local and international flights by early 2027.

It will be situated 13km northeast of Durbanville and was strategically placed to serve the Cape Town aviation and tourism sector.

The development plans for the airport incorporate the region's wine heritage into its design, with vineyards forming part of the landscape.

The site will also include open spaces with a plaza, a hotel, a conference centre, a wine-tasting experience, an outdoor amphitheatre for events, an aviation museum, and at-grade parking facilities.

It is not for Acsa to decide 

Mpofu said that it is not Acsa’s decision or within their mandate to decide if there should be another airport.

“Far be it from Acsa to ever suggest that there must never be another airport. However, the process of determining whether an area needs another airport is based on throughput, catchment area, infrastructure capability and the current operations of an existing airport to determine if a second airport is required,” she said. 

The Department of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority are the regulatory bodies that identify whether an additional airport is required in an area, she explained. 

The CEO said that there is no competition issue between the two airports.

“This pseudo competition that is insinuated is not how aviation operates,” Mpofu concluded. 

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