EL Airport aims at greater convenience

From your recent flights in and out of East London you will have noticed that the renovations at the airport are at a pretty advanced stage. Some of the major improvements which have been completed are not so noticeable. For instance the 147 additional parking bays which have been completed are still partially hidden behind some of the covered parking areas and we will still have to get used to accessing them. Airports Manager Michael Kernekamp says that they are looking at additional signage and the possible movement of the existing premium covered parking area which will assist.

With the 2010 Soccer World Cup fast approaching the race is on to complete the refurbishment on time. Kernekamp says that if all goes well then the renovations will be complete at the end of February in good time for any increased volumes over the world cup period.

Kernekamp says that Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) are trying to create a seamless experience for passengers from the moment they arrive at the airport till they board the plane. This starts with finding a parking when arriving, being able to proceed swiftly through the checkin procedures and finally through the security check. ACSA aims to facilitate this process so that it does not take longer than 25 minutes. Similarly arriving passengers should be able to exit the airplane, collect their luggage and exit the terminal within 15 minutes.

Some of the R100 million improvements include increasing the number of check-in counters from 12 to 16.  Security checkpoints will be increased to two points allowing faster throughput of passengers at busy times. The departure lounge will increase from 402 sqm to 529 sqm and include a new coffee shop. The departure gates will be doubled to four. The formerly cramped arrivals lounge will be increased from 322 sqm to 623 sqm with two new and larger luggage carousels. The passenger meeting area will also increase 194 sqm to 491 sqm. This means that in its entirety the arrivals hall triples in size.

The new premier lounge is operational and located in the departure hall. The new airport terminal will be fully air-conditioned and there is quite  a large additional retail component for the convenience of the 1.4 million  passengers handled by the East London Airport per year. The International Civil Aviation Authority requirement of a Hold Baggage System (HBS) will be installed and operational. Other improvements include covered walkways to be erected on the flight side of the terminal.

ACSA have recently completed a multi million rand Airport Master Plan which takes into account the needs of the city, increased projected passenger volumes and the needs of other stakeholders such as the East London Industrial Development Zone.

The history of the airport goes back to 1927 when Lieutenant Colonel Alistair Miller asked then East London town council to establish an aerodrome, in Woodbrook, west of the town. Two de Havelland Moth planes would carry out passenger flights on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays, weather permitting.

Weekday flights were only booked by special arrangement.

By 1944, a new airport was built at Collondale, about 2km west of the present terminal. In 1965, the terminal was moved again, to its present site, 9km west of the City Centre. Construction was completed in 1966 and the terminal was named after then Minister of Transport, Ben Schoeman. The airport was renamed in 1994.