South African airport overwhelmed by VIP plane rush

[Pieter C. 5]

South African Airport Overwhelmed By VIP Plane Rush

 

July 8, 2010

 

A moth-balled South African airport re-opened on Wednesday to serve as a parking lot for the private planes of notables attending the World Cup semi-final between Germany and Spain while other planes were turned away.

 

"We have had an overflow of flights," said Colin Naidoo, a spokesman for the new Durban King Shaka Airport.

 

Private planes have landed at the new airport and flown off to park for the match at the old airport about 60 km (40 miles) away that served as the air link for the eastern coastal city until earlier this year, he said.

 

Among the notables expected to attend the game were Spain's King Juan Carlos, South African President Jacob Zuma, US actor Leonardo DiCaprio and socialite Paris Hilton, local media reported.

 

(Reuters)

 

Meanwhile AF-KL will operate following extra flights:

 

 

Amsterdam – Johannesburg

10JUL10

KL593 AMS0800 – 1910JNB 744

KL595 AMS0900 – 2010JNB 772

KL599 AMS1000 – 2110JNB M11

KL591 AMS1030 – 2125JNB 772

 

12JUL10

KL594 JNB0300 – 1410AMS 744

KL596 JNB0400 – 1510AMS 772

KL600 JNB0600 – 1710AMS M11

KL592 JNB2355 – 1105+1AMS 77W

 

On 12JUL10 and 13JUL10, KL591/592 service operates with 777-300ER instead of -200ER as planned.

 

as well from CDG:

 

AF4168 CDG2000 – 0540+1JNB 772 10JUL10

AF990 CDG2320 – 0945+1JNB 388 10JUL10

 

AF985 JNB0640 – 1715CDG 388 12JUL10

AF995 JNB1930 – 0605+1CDG 388 12JUL10

 

AF994 on 11JUL10 from CDG, AF997 on 12JUL10 from JNB operates with 777-300ER instead of -200ER.

 

Arkefly will also operate a Boeing767-300 to JNB, and we'll also see at AMS 2 747-200's of the Greek airline Hellenic Imperial Airways...

 

World Cup Showdown Between Airline Alliances

 

July 7, 2010

 

Dutch airline KLM scrambled to put on extra planes to South Africa on Wednesday after the Netherlands reached the World Cup final, as airline alliance bosses limbered up for their own superjumbo clash.

 

Spain and Germany will battle for the other final place on Wednesday and the result could mean a multi-million dollar windfall for airlines as thousands of extra fans flock to Johannesburg's Soccer City in the hope of finding tickets.

 

Tuesday's victory over Uruguay put the Netherlands into the July 11 final for the first time since 1978, provoking a clamour from people desperate to join an army of orange-clad Dutch fans.

 

KLM's website was quoting EUR€4,000 for an economy ticket leaving on Friday and returning Tuesday, but seats were available for about EUR€1,450 with a longer stay.

 

The closing stages of the competition mirror a showdown between the world's three major airline alliances, each of which has a flag carrier representing one of the remaining teams.

 

KLM is part of the Skyteam alliance together with sister airline Air France. The two airlines merged in 2004.

 

Iberia is part of the "oneworld" global airlines club together with its planned merger partner British Airways. Germany's Lufthansa is part of the Star Alliance alongside South African Airways.

 

KLM said it would add four flights offering a total of 1,000 seats to Johannesburg, three from Amsterdam and one from Paris.

 

KLM partner Air France already operates an Airbus A380 superjumbo daily from Paris to Johannesburg and could bring in another 250-seat Boeing 777-200, a spokeswoman said.

 

Lufthansa flew the German team to South Africa on its newly delivered flagship A380 last month and is hoping the world's largest airliner will bring luck to the youthful German squad.

 

"If they win the Cup, we have promised to bring the team back again on the A380," said spokesman Jan Baerwalde.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

Hundreds Miss Semi-Final In Airport Chaos

 

July 8, 2010

 

Hundreds of fans missed the World Cup semi-final between Germany and Spain on Wednesday after chaos at the airport in Durban delayed their landing or forced planes to turn back, officials said.

 

The victims included members of soccer governing body FIFA's executive committee.

 

The airport disarray was a rare blemish on the so far successful hosting of the World Cup, held on the continent for the first time, which has gone without any major glitches.

 

Some VIP planes, which were supposed to land at the new Durban King Shaka airport and later park at a disused airport some 60 km (40 miles) away, would not move, causing the chaos, 702 Talk Radio reported, citing the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) as saying.

 

Irvin Khosa, of the local organising committee, blamed the problem on planes carrying heads of state which, he said, required special conditions which slowed the flow of other aircraft.

 

"When you transport heads of state, a free zone is required," he said.

 

"Two hundred and 20 flights came to Durban, especially charters. It was a case of force majeure."

 

TURN BACK

 

Five planes were forced to turn back to Johannesburg and Cape Town, while others landed after being delayed by several hours, leading to fans missing all or most of the clash between the two European soccer giants.

 

ACSA said passengers would not be reimbursed because the planes took off and landed at an airport and because only a small portion of the ticket price was paid to the company.

 

Stranded passengers, who spent thousands of rand on flight and match tickets, were outraged by the situation and some threatened to sue the airport company for their losses.

 

"We have done well up to now but today is a disgrace," one outraged fan told the radio station.

 

"The fact that one of our airports does not even know what its capacity is, is quite pathetic," said another.

 

Rich Mkhondo, spokesman for the World Cup local organising committee, said there was nothing the organisers could do about the incident now.

 

"Unfortunately, these kind of things happen. We will be meeting with ACSA later today to make sure this doesn't happen again during the final," he said.

 

FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke denied reports that those who missed the game would be entitled to compensation.

 

"There will be no indemnity, this is not true," he said. "It's not our responsibility. What happened at the airport is an air traffic control problem. We had commercial partners and executive committee members who could not land in Durban."

 

Netherlands face Spain in the World Cup final at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Sunday.

 

(Reuters)

 

Apart from the extra AF A380 (ex CDG) and the 3 extra KL flights (ex AMS), there are additional charters for the Dutch supporters by Arkefly (767-300), Hellenic Imperial (747-200's), Pullmantur (747-300; yes, flying Dutch supporters), and Air Berlin (A330-300; ex DUS): it will be busy tomorrow at JNB !!!

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

Paris Hilton at the World Cup? Is she there because she really liked football or is she there to soak up the glamour? It's just like the Monaco GP in F1, filled with celebrities who probably don't give a damn about F1 but got the chance to go on the grid which any F1 fan would kill to get!

[Waiping 12]

Maybe she's looking for the next partner for her hidden cam video.

[Pieter C. 5]

SA Airports Firm To Pay Compensation

 

July 9, 2010

 

Soccer fans who missed the World Cup semi-final between Germany and Spain due to flight chaos in Durban will be partially compensated, airports officials said on Friday.

 

Hundreds of football fans missed the match between the two European soccer giants on Wednesday after chaos at the airport in the coastal city delayed their landing or forced planes to turn back.

 

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said bad weather, larger than expected traffic and VIP planes which refused to move from the airport -- as had been agreed in advance -- caused the chaos at the new Durban King Shaka airport.

 

Some 600 passengers missed the match after six planes were forced to either return to Johannesburg or Cape Town, or divert to other airports.

 

ACSA chief executive Monhla Hlahla officially apologised for the airport disarray, a rare blemish on the so far successful hosting of the World Cup, held on the continent for the first time, which has gone without any major glitches.

 

"We have decided that we will put aside a small amount of money to the tune of ZAR400,000 rand (USD$52,900) to compensate (passengers)," she told Talk Radio 702.

 

Stranded passengers, who spent thousands of rand on flight and match tickets, were outraged by the mismanagement that led to the problems.

 

A German fan was due to appear on court on Friday for allegedly assaulting a cabin crew member after realising that he would miss the much anticipated match after his plane was diverted to Port Elizabeth, officials said.

 

"He behaved in a violent manner toward a crew member and will appear in court today," said Mthunzi Mhaga, spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority.

 

ACSA said it would ensure there would be no repeat of the problems during the World Cup final at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Sunday when Netherlands face Spain.

 

If aircrafts refuse to move, the company threatened to tow them out of the way to clear the landing and airport space.

 

(Reuters)

 

Anyhow, Johannesburg airport is much bigger than Durban...

 

This is the final charterflights list ex AMS today:

 

PH-AHX 763 Arkefly

EC-KXN 743 Pullmantur

TF-AMJ 743 a/w

PH-BFA 744 KLM

PH-BQG 772 KLM

PH-KCC M11 KLM

PH-BQO 772 KLM

SX-TIC 742 Hellenic Imperial

CS-TFT 763 Euro Atlantic (will operate via Luanda )

 

For pictures, see www.scramble.nl (photo topic EHAM 10jul2010)

[aaronhiew 0]

'A German fan was due to appear on court on Friday for allegedly assaulting a cabin crew member after realising that he would miss the much anticipated match after his plane was diverted to Port Elizabeth, officials said', because of football match, now face the laws.

[Fitri Shukri 0]

Why is it VIP aircraft refuse to move?