Guide to Cape Town International Airport

• Posted by: Editor
• On: 05/08/2008 15:09:47
• In: South Africa Car Hire

Cape Town International Airport is the second-largest airport in South Africa, after OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and is the third-largest in Africa. The airport is a hub for South African Airways and is also a major gateway for tourist traffic, with 8,320,000 passengers in 2007!

Until the mid-1990s the airport was named DF Malan Airport after Prime Minister Daniel François Malan. Its service ranks among the highest in the world and has earned the World Travel Award for Africa’s leading airport for the last seven years running.

Get out of Cape Town International Airport
The airport is 22 kilometres from the city centre, with a range of transport options to get you where you need to go. Besides car rental services, these include metered taxis and shuttle services. If you have booked a car in advanced you can at least be confident that a car is waiting for you when you arrive at the car rental desk. You will find these desks in both the International and Domestic terminals.

If you are heading into the city you can try a taxi which should cost around R200 and take 20 minutes, though it should be noted that Touch Down Taxis is the only authorized taxi company at the airport and unauthorised taxis are not recommended. You can also use a shuttle bus; the cost is about R120, plus an additional R30 for every person of the same group.

Getting to Cape Town International Airport
If you are returning your South African car rental to the airport you can simply drive to the airport. The airport is convenient from all the National roads leaving Cape Town, but more specifically the airport is located on the N2 (Settlers Way) near Bellville. Most of these roads are of a high quality but some are currently receiving an upgrade due to increased traffic levels in recent years.

If you have already dropped off your car elsewhere and are looking for a way to get to the airport you have a number of options. The best is probably getting a taxi, though it would be wise to negotiate your fare before you get in the taxi to avoid undesirable incidences.

After you get to the airport a little hint to minimise your time is queues, you could book-in online in plenty of time before your flight and skip the Check-in queues. It is also a good idea to have all your LAGs (Liquids, Aerosols and Gels) already in a transparent plastic resealable 1-litre bag, in individual containers that don’t exceed 100 millilitres each.

What is in Cape Town International Airport?
The airport has 5 terminals; International Arrivals, International Departures, Domestic Arrivals, Domestic Departures on South African Airways, and Domestic Departures on other airlines. All these terminals are lined up one after the other next to the road and they are all within easy walking distance of each other should you need to make a connecting flight.

However in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup and the general increase in tourism, the airport is being given a major overhaul so if you are passing through you may expect some construction going on. This could cause delays if you have to move about the airport quickly so leave some time so that this isn’t an issue.

The International Departures Terminal is built in 3 levels. The ground floor is where you will find all 68 check-in counters as well as ticket counters, baggage handling areas, duty free facilities and a number of shops. On the intermediate level you will get the passport control desks and offices for immigration and security.

All the terminals contain Banking and foreign exchange bureaux facilities. If you wish to rent a phone during your stay in Africa you can hire a mobile phone in either of the International Terminals. If you are feeling unwell after your trip or you would rather not face a long flight feeling sick there is a medical practise for the use of passengers and air crews is situated on the mezzanine level of the International Arrivals terminal.

That’s the end of our quick overview of what you can expect in the airport; so check out our dedicated Cape Town International Airport homepage. For more ideas for activities that a look at our other South Africa blogs.

If you have any tips about dealing with Cape Town International Airport or any further questions then we’d be more than happy to see them so please leave your message in the comment box below.