Andre Klynsmith

Aviation

"Not At Risk" Is a Conditional Sentence: ACSA Puts Its Fuel Plan and Its Building Plan on the Record

Airports Company South Africa has stated on the record that OR Tambo International is not currently at risk of a fuel supply disruption, and that the industry's formal mitigation proposal for the Natref outage has been submitted to the Minister of Transport.

Aviation

11 September 2026 • 4 min read

An airport operator saying it has a plan is not the same as saying nothing can go wrong. ACSA's assurance is conditional on projected fuel cargoes arriving as expected — and the same results presentation set out a multi-airport capital pipeline that air cargo shippers should be reading just as closely.

What was actually confirmed

ACSA Acting CEO Charles Shilowa gave the update at the company's 2025/26 annual financial results announcement on 9 September. He said ACSA worked with relevant stakeholders to build a plan covering the shortfall, and that the plan indicates there should be no challenges until the refinery is back on stream.

The industry's mitigation proposal was due to reach Transport Minister Barbara Creecy on 31 August, and Department of Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi has confirmed to Freight News that it was submitted. ACSA and other stakeholders will keep meeting to monitor whether projected fuel supplies arrive as expected, with the Minister being briefed on the measures.

Read the conditional, not the headline

The load-bearing phrase in ACSA's statement is that stakeholders will continue monitoring whether projected supplies arrive as expected. Every element of the substitute supply chain — import cargoes, coastal discharge, pipeline movements and rail — carries its own delay risk, and those risks are not independent of one another. A late vessel and a pipeline outage in the same fortnight compound rather than offset.

For freight forwarders booking belly-hold capacity out of Johannesburg, the practical exposure is not a fuel shortage at the airport. It is the possibility of tankering decisions, payload trimming or schedule changes by carriers protecting themselves against uncertainty. Those show up as capacity tightness and rate movement well before any refuelling problem becomes visible on the apron.

The building programme underneath the fuel story

ACSA also outlined plans to expand capacity for renewed passenger and cargo growth, and said it expects an increase in capital project delivery, with developments at OR Tambo, Cape Town, George and King Phalo airports in its expansion pipeline. The planned Midfield Cargo Terminal is expected to add 750 000 tonnes of capacity.

The commodity list ACSA gave for that facility is the useful detail: pharmaceuticals, e-commerce shipments, aerospace components, perishables, diamonds and metals, and automotive cargo. That is a temperature-controlled, high-security, high-value mix. It signals where the handling investment — and the compliance burden that comes with it — is going to land.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics — with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com