South Africa’s OR Tambo International Airport:

OR Tambo International Airport is the main airport and operates all domestic and international flights to and from South Africa. It is one of the busiest airports in the world and the busiest in Africa that handles up to 16 million passengers annually. Or Tambo International Airport is a large beautifully designed airport that is located near the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was known as Johannesburg International Airport and as a matter of fact, this airport has been renamed several times. The airport was first founded in 1952 and was titled as Jan Smuts International Airport; it was later renamed again on 27 October 2006 after Oliver Tambo, the former President of the African National Congress (ANC).

The Palmietfontein International Airport, Crises & Prosperity:

Former Johannesburg International Airport displaced the Palmietfontein International Airport after its construction. Palmietfontein International Airport used to handle European flights and was a wartime air force base which was converted to a temporary airport since 1945. Later, Palmietfontein was transformed into a motor racetrack in 1956 and today, parts of the original runway are still visible on Google Earth. In past years and during 1980s, the political as well as military conditions highly affected the then Jan Smuts International Airport (Or Tambo International Airport). Trading with South Africa was stopped by many countries and many airlines had to stop flying to the airport. However, today the airport serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to or from South Africa. Approximately all the renowned airlines are offering flights to Johannesburg at affordable rates.

Airlines & Destinations:

OR Tambo International Airport operates flights from all major airlines such as 1Time, Afriqiyah Airways, Air Botswana, Airlink, Interair South Africa, Mango, South African Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways and many more. 1Time flies to and from Johannesburg, connecting it with cities; Cape Town, Durban, East London, George, Port Elizabeth, Livingstone and Zanzibar. Afriqiyah Airways connects Johannesburg with Tripoli whereas South African Airways connects Jo’Burg with Accra, Blantyre, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Frankfurt, Harare, Hong Kong, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lilongwe, Livingstone, London-Heathrow, Luanda, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, Maputo, Mauritius, Mumbai, Munich, New York–JFK, Perth, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Victoria Falls, Washington-Dulles and Windhoek. All these airlines offer cheap flights to Johannesburg and everywhere else in South Africa.

Runways and Terminals:

The airport is composed of two parallel runways. These runways run from north to south and the runway on the west is over 4400 m in length – interestingly its one of the world’s longest international airport runways. Or Tambo International Airport comprises six terminals which can be divided into three following major areas:

• The international terminal
• The domestic terminal
• The Transit terminal

Recreations:

Apart from a safe landing at Or Tambo International Airport; this stunning airport has many shops, impressive restaurants and bakeries where you can select your favorite desert and hang around the airport. Waiting for flights in Or Tambo International Airport doesn’t bore the travelers. You’d get too see a lot more than just thriving shops and eateries at the airport; OR Tambo International Airport also houses South African Airways Museum. This museum is actually a large room boasting South African Airways memorabilia.