According to an article by Bulawayo 24 News, as traffic continues to grow with airlines jostling to introduce direct flights to Victoria Falls, the problem is worsening.

The article further states that this issue has become a major concern of airport authorities and innovative means of accommodating the ever increasing airline traffic are being sought.

Zimbabwe Immigration Department principal director Clemence Masango said immigration officials were having a torrid time containing traffic as the airport’s arrivals section was too small to contain the deluge of visitors.

The airport was refurbished at a cost of $150 million. The airport’s expansion began in February 2013 and was carried out by a Chinese firm China Jiangsu International Group through a concessionary loan by the China Export and Import Bank. It was commissioned in November 2016.

It had been expected to smoothly handle around 1, 5 million passengers annually up from 500 000, but is now struggling to contain the huge volume of traffic.

This comes after BA Comair is now operating larger aircraft on the Joburg-Vic Falls route, and over the coming months will be offering double daily flights on several days of the week.

The BA Comair daily schedule is operated by a B737-800 aircraft, which accommodates 162 passengers in a business and economy configuration. The airline is also licensed to operate these three additional services per week year-round as required, should there be demand.

South African Airways is operating an Airbus A330-200 with 222 seats, which is 88 seats more than their previous aircraft capacity.

In addition, Victoria Falls has new airlines servicing the destination, namely Ethiopian Airways and Kenya Airways, linking Victoria Falls to North and East Africa. Both airlines have their own hubs and networks for better connections and packaging.

Kenya Airways fly on from Victoria Falls to Cape Town, creating a much-needed route linking the three iconic African destinations of Cape Town, Victoria Falls and Kilimanjaro.

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As a result of a weak economy, South Africa can expect to see continued pressure on margins, particularly in the airline industry, combined with a possible decline in passenger volumes, according to Venter.

This year, in the continued absence of meaningful GDP growth in South Africa, Comair’s domestic airline-passenger market has yet to expand into its surplus seat capacity, adds Venter. “The lack of GDP growth constrains industry occupancy levels at below the global average. Average global seat occupancy is 80.6% as per IATA, while Comair has an average of 75%.”

Despite these ‘tough trading conditions, Comair has reported a 54% increase in profits in this year’s annual financial results, and a 28% increase in cash generated by its operations.

Says Venter: “Comair is well positioned to operate in these conditions, with strong brands, dedicated staff, effective equipment, an efficient cost base and strong cash reserves.”

The company also reports that income generated by its non-airline brands now constitutes 20% of its earnings. Venter says the results, including the strong performance of the non-airline operations, supports Comair’s strategic focus.

Comair’s claim against SAA for damages, arising from anti-competitive conduct, and amounting to between R810 and R898 million, was recently heard in the Gauteng South High Court. Judgement in this matter was handed down on 15 February 2017. In terms of the judgement, Comair was awarded damages of R554 million, with a similar additional amount being awarded in respect of interest and costs, resulting in total damages of approximately R1.16 billion. SAA lodged an appeal against this judgement.

Comair lodged a cross appeal to recover the full amount of the damages sustained plus interest on the total amount, which if successful, will increase the damages awarded to approximately R1.9 billion. “It’s anticipated the appeal will be heard in early 2018,” concludes Venter.