Located on the outskirts of Pretoria, Wonderboom Airport is set for a revival.
Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya said in her inaugural State of the City Address last week that local government is committed to reviving the city’s underperforming assets. These include Wonderboom Airport.
REVIVAL OF WONDERBOOM AIRPORT
The Tshwane government devised a turnaround plan for the beleaguered airport several years ago. To date, five components of the 18-point plan have been completed. These interventions include reclaiming the airport’s Category 5 licence in 2023. Wonderboom Airport was downgraded to Category 2 in 2019.
That said, the Mayor said that Wonderboom Airport has the potential to handle more commercial flights and that it could handle up to 12% of the traffic at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport. In fact, as reported by Top Auto, this major hub handles over 26 million passengers annually.
In May 2015, almost a decade ago, Airlink launched flights between Wonderboom Airport and Cape Town International Airport.
It offered three to four flights a day on the route. However, Airlink scrapped the route in August 2018, citing profitability as the cause.
Moya said that one of the challenges contributing to the success of Wonderboom Airport is resistance from travellers. Travellers from Pretoria prefer to use Johannesburg’s primary airport hub, OR Tambo International, or the smaller Lanseria International Airport as opposed to Wonderboom Airport.
IMPROVEMENTS AT WONDERBOOM AIRPORT
Wonderboom Airport management – in partnership with Airports Company of South Africa – has been able to achieve several objectives without the need for bailouts or funding outside of the airport’s operating budget.
Significantly, Wonderboom Airport saw 64% growth in revenue between the 2020/21 financial year and the current year. Thus, net loss margins, which were -230% (in the 2020/21 period) have improved to -69%.
Moreover, upgrades at Wonderboom Airport came with no additional financial implications to residents or the metro’s budget.
The revival of Wonderboom Airport does face funding challenges. However, the scaling up of Wonderboom Airport to a commercial aviation hub would present employment opportunities for locals.
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