Cape Winelands Airport company to manage several SA airports

More airports under their umbrella

The company which manages the Cape Winelands Airport, rsa.AERO has revealed their big plans to become a network airport operator.

According to Tourism Update, the company has already secured the lease to manage Plettenberg Bay Airport under the name Garden Route Aero, and are busy acquiring an airport at Gariep Dam in the Free State. The company is also planning to manage the Pilanesberg Airport in the North West province. 

Deon Cloete, managing director of the Cape Winelands Airport and executive director of rsa.AERO said the Cape Winelands Airport would be the group’s central airport, but they also had aspirations to be a network operator.

Besides the Plettenberg Bay Airport, Cloete said they had acquired an airport close to the Gariep Dam with the hopes to develop it for adventure aviation activities like hot air ballooning and microlight flights.

Cloete also said they might even explore cross-border operations.

“If you fly to Cape Town and come and spend a week in Stellenbosch, you must have the option of going to the Garden Route and from there, to the likes of Sun City, Pilanesberg and even Victoria Falls and back again before you go back to Europe,” Cloete said as per Tourism Update.

Cape Winelands airport expansion underway

Meanwhile, the company’s expansion programme and upgrades at the Cape Winelands airport is currently underway and is said to conclude in 2027. 

Some key features of the revamped airport will include:

• Vineyards as part of the landscaping aesthetics to portray the regions wine culture.
• Open spaces that includes a plaza, a hotel, conference centre, a wine tasting experience, an outdoor amphitheater for events up to 5 000 people, and an aviation museum.
• A botanical garden with a diverse collection of indigenous fynbos.
• Spacious and comfortable waiting lounges with ergonomic seating.