Johannesburg - A separate terminal has been set up at OR Tambo International Airport for the 31 soccer teams that will be arriving in South Africa for the FIFA World Cup, Airports Company South Africa said on Tuesday.
It said the move aimed at both assuring the security of the teams while at the same time minimising disruption of normal airport operations.
Briefing reporters earlier, the airport's assistant general manager Tebogo Megoe said the separate facility to be used only by the teams had the necessary infrastructure to aid both arrival and departure journeys.
It was also confirmed that Australia will be the first team to arrive tomorrow ahead of the World Cup kick off on 11 June. Brazil arrives on Thursday while Argentinean and Denmark national teams are due to land on Saturday morning.
Megoe said 16 teams will be arriving next week while the rest of the countries are expected to be in the country by Monday 7 June.
Also arriving on Thursday is FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who has been afforded a Head of State status and will be accommodated in the state protocol lounge.
Megoe said OR Tambo International, which is expected to be the entry point for the visitors, was ready to accommodate the high traffic volumes expected to begin from next week. "We have done all that we needed to do in terms of ensuring that we have capacity for the event," said Megoe.
It is expected that OR Tambo will experience peak hour periods ranging from16 to 18 hours on any given day during the World Cup period.
Megoe said "contingency" plans had been developed specifically around the tournament and that there was no crisis the airport staff would not be able to handle.
There will be a viewing area for the public to allow fans to catch a glimpse of the teams as they arrive at the airport but police have warned that strict security measure will be in place and that the area will be cordoned off. Of the 90 000 police officers in the country, 44 000 will be deployed at World Cup venues while all major airports are expected to have at least 1000 officers on patrol on busy days.
Megoe said due to the expected increase in air traffic volume measures are in place to ensure all airports have sufficient fuel all the time. Currently OR Tambo is sitting with about 45 million liters of fuel capacity while other airports like Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein have also taken steps to ensure sufficient fuel availability for the duration of the tournament.
Meanwhile, the country's first rapid rail link Gautrain will start operating from Sandton to OR Tambo from 8 June and is expected to ease road traffic during the World Cup period. A trip from the airport to Sandton will take about eight to 15 minutes
