OPERATIONS are back in full swing at the Cape Town International Airport after flights came to a halt after a plane developed a technical error on Thursday afternoon, 12 October.
This incident affected the runways which flights use when landing and taking off.
Flights were grounded leading to heavy delays for both arrival and departing flights at the airport.
Both departure and arrival runways were closed as cleaners had to clean and degrease the affected runways.
Airport Company South Africa (ACSA) spokeswoman, Busie Gcali, said the affected runways have since reopened after thorough cleaning removing oils from the runways.
"Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) is pleased to announce that the main runway at Cape Town International Airport has been reopened on Friday morning, following an incident in which an aircraft developed a technical issue on the runway on Thursday, 12 October.
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"The main runway was closed just after 2pm in the afternoon, leaving only the secondary runway available to small-gauge aircraft. As a result, both arriving and departing flights were impacted.
"Following the removal of the aircraft and an inspection of the runway, ACSA teams started a cleanup operation on Thursday afternoon. Additional cleaning and degreasing activities were completed overnight on a larger area of the runway," added Gcali.
The acting regional manager of the Cape Town International Airport, Shaheed Regal, said they followed international safety standards for the safety of their clients.
“ACSA is governed by very stringent international safety and environmental standards. Therefore, the cleanup operation was very critical to ACSA as passenger safety is our main priority,” said Regal.
ACSA has apologised to those affected by the incident. '
"Travelers are requested to make use of the ACSA app or contact their airlines directly for flight updates and information," said Gcali.
