City to take advantage of air cargo expansion opportunities to drive economic recovery

STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS

This morning I had the great pleasure of speaking on behalf of the City of Cape Town in a webinar, hosted by Wesgro, to inform delegates of our efforts to help stimulate supply and demand for Cape Town products. We will work with our provincial partners, officials in the City’s Enterprise and Investment Department, our Strategic Business Partners, such as Wesgro, as well as key stakeholders in the air cargo space such as the Cape Town International Airport and ACSA, to ensure Cape Town remains regionally and globally competitive as we plot the road to recovery post COVID-19. 

A main priority for the City of Cape Town is to generate and maintain the right conditions to attract investment, grow the economy and create jobs. This also entails taking advantage of new opportunities presented by any crisis.

According to information shared on the webinar this morning, there is an opportunity for Cape Town to leverage the fact that airlines are looking to air cargo to help generate revenue, while passenger numbers remain low. Another opportunity has arisen from the growth in the e-commerce sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As discussed during the webinar, air cargo and e-commerce support each other and is a key opportunity to take advantage of.

Connectivity forms part of our Tourism Development Framework 2024 and our objective is to connect Cape Town with key destinations in Africa and globally. Connecting Cape Town to more cities and countries is key to creating more jobs through tourism and also provides trade opportunities to export more proudly Cape Town products to the rest of the world.

The recently launched Tourism Bounce Back Strategy, to ensure Cape Town’s tourism and related sectors get back on their feet as soon as possible, is designed to increase airlift for passengers, and therefore, indirectly for air cargo.

We have worked continuously to position Cape Town as the springboard into Africa and beyond, precisely because our world-class airport, which is undergoing expansion, and our well-located harbour which gives access to African and international markets.

It is now more important than ever to lobby Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) for an increase in cargo capacity and dedicated freighter capabilities at the airport.

By boosting direct flights, or route expansions, we create more efficient connections between our city and key source markets, which is crucial if we are to capitalise on global business. At the end of the day, more connections create jobs and deliver trade and tourism opportunities.

This is why we have also renewed funding for the successful Cape Town Air Access (CTAA) initiative, located in Wesgro, an initiative to ensure we get the international aviation sector back in our air space.

Together with our strategic business partners, we are working on recovery plans for the aviation sector to rebuild confidence in air travel, which will lead to the expansion of air cargo and more opportunities for the residents of Cape Town.