CoCT, CPT International sets off to grow the aviation economy

The aviation economy in Cape Town is a crucial driver of economic growth. According to a PWC 2017 study, The Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) has contributed R4,7bn to the South African economy and supported over 43,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs through spending.

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Connectivity forms part of the City’s Tourism Development Framework 2024, which aims to connect Cape Town with key destinations in Africa and globally. For this reason, the City of Cape Town's mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management, Alderman James Vos, recently met with the new acting general manager of CTIA, Mark Maclean, to discuss future collaborations with the City.

"Connecting Cape Town to more cities and countries creates more jobs through tourism and also provides trade opportunities to export more proudly Cape Town products to the rest of the world.

"Together with our strategic business partners, we are implementing recovery plans for this crucial sector and have renewed funding for the successful Cape Town Air Access (CTAA) initiative, located in Wesgro, to ensure we get the aviation sector back on its feet while all roleplayers, including travellers, adhere to strict Covid-19 protocols," says Alderman Vos.

Growing sector demand

Maclean, says: "I appreciate the visit from Alderman Vos to our airport and his best wishes for my role as acting general manager.

"We discussed the recovery of passenger travel, the future of developments in and around the airport and opportunities to partner with communities and business to grow air cargo and stimulate economic growth. In the current environment, the health and safety of all airport users remain our top priority and we continue to innovate in this regard. Passengers will soon experience new self-service electronic gates when they pass through Immigration."

Alderman Vos adds: "Other key aspects of our recovery plans include rebuilding confidence in air travel and the expansion of air cargo so we can export our locally produced goods to compete on the world stage, which will support local businesses and the sustainability of employment in this sector.

"Together with the City’s partners in the aviation sector, and the recovery plans we have in place, I am confident that this sector will come back stronger than before."