ExecuJet South Africa handled 2,230 flights for World Cup
ExecuJet South Africa, which runs fixed base operations (FBOs) at Johannesburg’s Lanseria International Airport and at Cape Town International Airport, handled 2,230 flights during the FIFA Football World Cup.
The company says that aircraft started arriving a week prior to the World Cup on 11 June, with most departing immediately after the final between Spain and Netherlands on 11 July.
The busiest time was before the final match in Johannesburg. ExecuJet says aircraft started arriving at Lanseria International Airport from Friday July 9, 2010. By the Sunday, 187 aircraft were parked on ExecuJet’s apron, Lanseria Airport’s main apron, the freight apron and the parallel runway (see top photo). Most of these aircraft left on Sunday July 11 after the final was played.
“I have very seldom seen, in my entire working career, such dedication, team work, team spirit, motivation and willingness to pitch in and help,” says Ettore Poggi, ExecuJet South Africa managing director. “The team work and close co-operation between our staff, the airport personnel and all authorities was fantastic and contributed to the success.”
ExecuJet’s FBO facility at Lanseria, near Johannesburg, handled over 1,430 business jet movements during the World Cup period, with all business aircraft visiting Lanseria International Airport at one point. ExecuJet‘s Cape Town facility (see bottom photo) handled over 800 aircraft movements during the tournament, which included 105 out-station movements. A total of 165 business aircraft used the Cape Town FBO.
Five of the international teams playing in the tournament used the ExecuJet facility at Lanseria for all their domestic flights. ExecuJet says other users of the airport included heads of state, FIFA delegates, government officials, tournament sponsors, celebrities and sports stars.
ExecuJet South Africa’s charter fleet of over 40 aircraft, ranging from King Air Turboprops through Learjets, Challenger and Global Express business jets, also saw strong demand during the world cup.