OR Tambo battling IT glitches, affecting domestic travel

Africa’s largest airport, OR Tambo International, is experiencing challenges with its IT network, affecting domestic travel passenger processing.

The airport’s communication team issued a voice statement to the media on Thursday, noting that the airport has had to make use of manual processes to facilitate the travel of people moving in and out of the airport.

“The OR Tambo International Airport is currently experiencing a challenge with the IT network, this is impacting the baggage sortation system as well as the 2D barcode system,” Samukelo Khambule, the communications specialist at the airport said.

“As a contingency, the operations team is processing baggage manually at terminal B – which is our domestic terminal – as well as the central terminal building.

“The security team has also implemented a manual boarding pass screening process. The teams on site are working tirelessly to resolve the problem,” Khambule added.

OR Tambo is the hub of the country’s air travel, with 21 domestic airports being serviced from the international airport alone. Information available on the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) website shows that the airport facilitates over 21 million travellers each year.

It is not yet clear what the cause of the glitches to the airport’s IT system is, but the airport has encouraged travellers to arrive early to prevent further delays to travel which may be caused by the glitch.

This is a developing story.

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