Thousands of passengers at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg faced significant delays on Monday due to a major refueling problem. The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) provided minimal communication, leaving passengers frustrated and confused as they waited for updates.
Among those affected was financial therapist Saul Smith from Cape Town, who arrived at 10:30 am for his flight but encountered “absolute chaos.” Smith was in the lounge when he noticed the growing crowd, which was later explained by a news article about the refueling issue. “People started losing their marbles,” he told Daily Maverick. While Acsa issued a statement at 12:43 pm, explaining that refueling challenges were causing delays, communication on the ground was sparse. Passengers were left to rely on a few announcements directing them to contact their airlines.
According to Smith, the situation worsened as airport staff initially claimed there was no fuel, later attributing the issue to a “mechanical problem” that could only be fixed by a specialist engineer. Passengers scrambled to find their departure gates amid the chaos. “It was an absolute nightmare,” Smith said, describing the confusion and backlog of luggage.
Lerissa Govender, another passenger, experienced a similar ordeal. She arrived at 7:30 am for a 9:55 am flight, but her flight to Durban only departed at 3:45 pm. “The lack of communication made everything worse,” she said.
Airlink issued a statement at 3:30 pm apologizing for the disruptions, which it attributed to the failure of the airport’s refueling system. The airline assured passengers that it was working to clear the backlog, although it warned that delays in boarding, baggage handling, and flight cleaning would continue.
By 6:00 pm, Acsa announced that the fuel system was fully operational again, with fuel trucks on their way to the apron. However, the Airlines Association of South Africa (Aasa) quickly expressed concerns, pointing out that the issue was related to a main valve failure in the refueling system. Aasa also called on Acsa to expedite the installation of a backup bypass line, a solution promised after a similar failure in December 2022.
Aasa CEO Aaron Munetsi urged Acsa to prioritize the resilience plan to avoid future disruptions, particularly as the summer peak holiday season approaches. In the meantime, some airlines resorted to tanking extra fuel on flights into Johannesburg, but space constraints at the airport meant some planes had to park on taxiways. Additionally, at least one flight had to be rerouted to Lanseria to refuel.
By 7:30 pm, passengers were still facing long delays. One Twitter user, Yolanda, tweeted that her flight, scheduled to depart at 6:10 pm, had not moved, and there had been no updates from the airport. Other passengers whose flights were meant to leave at noon reported still being stuck at the airport hours later.
This latest disruption highlights ongoing issues with the airport’s infrastructure and the need for urgent improvements to ensure smooth operations, particularly during high-traffic periods.