Johannesburg Airport was renamed O. R. Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) on the 27th October 2006 (it was originally known as Jan Smuts Airport, but had been named Johannesburg Airport in 1994 when the ANC government made a decision not to name airports after politicians). The name Jan Smuts Airport explains where the airport’s ICAO code, FAJS, comes from. OR Tambo Airport is situated just east of Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province of South Africa.
OR Tambo Airport is southern africa's busiest air transport hub.
ORTIA is managed by the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA).
Automated flight Information: Tel 086 72 77 888 |
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ACSA Help desk: +27 11 921 6262 |
Domestic Travellers |
International Travellers |
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People travelling domestically are advised to arrive at the airport at least one and a half hours prior to their departure time.u |
People travelling internationally are advised to arrive at the airport at least three hours prior to their departure time. |
Flight information
You can check flight times and details by:
phoning 086 72 77 888 for ACSA's automated flight-information service;
phoning the ACSA helpdesk, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on +27 (0)11 921 6262;
using your cellphone to send to the number 35007 an SMS containing the flight number, in reply to which you will receive up-to-date flight details.

Soccer World Cup 2010 countdown clock at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport
To ensure safety in poor weather conditions, the main runways at ORTIA are equipped with category II instrument landing systems and related visual navigational aids.
There is a wide choice of hotels available in (Southern Sun) and around the airport precinct.
ORTIA has the following facilities for passengers' convenience:
a chapel;
Muslim prayer facilities for Islamic passengers;
a conference facility as well as a Postnet, offering business support services, and a Post Office in the International Terminal
a 45-room transit hotel;
an emergency medical clinic with trained nurses and paramedics on duty and doctors on 24-hour standby;
an unaccompanied minors area;
a baggage storage facility (phone 011-3902318);
a media conference room, often used by South African cabinet ministers as well as by foreign VIPs.
a five star luxury hotel on the doorstep of the airport terminals.
Internet access is available within the terminals using the Airport Online facility in International Departures. Two Airport Online stores are located in the domestic terminal. One is open to the general public and is located near the ATM area in the shopping area. The second is located for use by passengers only and is situated just after the main security point prior to the boarding gates.
Dozens of airlines, South African and foreign, fly in and out of O.R. Tambo International Airport. There are numerous airlines operating international flights, and the main domestic carriers are Velvet Sky, 1time, BA, SAA, Fedair, Mango and Kulula.
1Time : 0861 345 345 |
Civair : +27 (0)11 701 3707 |
Malaysia Airlines : +27 (0)11 880 9614 |
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Air Austral : +27 (0)11 262 0508 |
Comair Limited : +27 (0)11 921 0111 |
Mango Airlines: 0861 162646 |
Air Botswana : +27 (0)11 921 6489 |
Congo Airlines : +27 (0)11 390-1134 |
Nationwide : 0861737 737 |
Air France : + 0861 340 340 |
Egypt Air : +27 (0)11 880 4547 |
Olympic Airways : +27 (0)11 880 1614 |
Air Gabon : +27 (0)11 807 4011 |
El-Al : +27 (0)11 880 3232 |
Qantas Airways : +27 (0)11 441 8491 |
Air Madagascar : +27 (0)11 289 8222 |
Emirates : +27 (0)11 390 1215 |
Singapore Airlines : +27 (0)11 880 8560 |
Air Malawi : +27 (0)11 390 1211 |
Federal Air : +27 (0) 11 395 9000 |
South African Airlink : +27 (0)11 395 3579 |
Air Mauritius : +27 (0)11 394 45 48/9 |
Ghana Airways : +27 (0)11 622 4005 |
South African Express Airways : +27 (0)11 978 5577 |
Air Namibia : +27 (0)11 390 2876 / 970 1767 |
Ghana Airways : +27 (0)11 622 4005 |
South African Airways : +27 (0)11 978 1000 |
Air Seychelles : +27 (0)11 452 0932 |
InterAir : +27 (0)11 616 0636 |
Swiss International Airlines : +27 (0)11 390 2446 |
Air Tanzania : +27 (0)11 616 1870 |
Kenya Airways : +27 (0)82 234 5747 |
Swazi Express Airways : +27(0)31 408 1115 |
Air Zimbabwe : +27 (0)11 970 1687 |
KLM : +27 (0)11 961 6700 |
TAAG Angolan Airlines : +27 (0)11 450 1116/7 |
British Airways (Comair): 0860 4359 22 |
Kulula.com :0861 58 5852 |
TAP Air Portugal : +27 (0)11 455 4509 |
British Airways (International): +27 11 441 8400 |
LAM Mozambique Airlines : +27 (0)11 622 4889 |
Virgin Atlantic Airways : +27 (0)11 340 3400 |
Cameroon Airlines : +27 (0)11 616 9482/3 |
LTU International Airways : +27 (0)21 936 1190 |
Zimbabwe Express Airlines : +27 (0)11 395 3579 |
Cathay Pacific Airways : +27 (0)11 394 0905 |
Lufthansa : +27 (0)11 325 0870 |
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There is a luggage-storage depot on the upper level of the underground parkade, near the main lift lobby in International Arrivals. You may leave any baggage at a cost of R50.00 per item for the first day and R40.00 per item every day thereafter. Mastercard and Visa accepted. Open 24 hours 7 days a week.
The foreign-exchange outlets of ABSA bank, American Express, Rennies and Master Currency are all in the public concourse of the International Arrivals hall. ABSA also has an outlet in the holding lounge of International Departures, but this is not for the use of South Africans.
There are branches of Nedbank and ABSA on the mezzanine level of the public concourse in International Arrivals.
Automated teller machines (ATMs)
ATMs can be found in:
the public concourse of International Arrivals; and
level 1 of the shopping concourse in the Domestic Terminal.
The airport has a chapel and a prayer area for Muslim passengers.
The Premier Conference Centre in the Domestic Terminal offers a modern and stylish environment for business meetings, conferences and seminars. It has three 10-seater rooms, a 12-seater room, a 14-seater room, a seminar facility for groups of 25 or 50, as well as a conference room for groups of 60 or 120.
Airport Online, which offers Internet access, has one branch in International Departures and two in the Domestic Terminal. One of these, which is open to the general public, is near the ATMs in the shopping area. The second, for use by passengers only, is between the main security point and the boarding gates.
International Departures also offers a wireless option and a duty free shop, which allows laptop users with wireless cards to connect to the Internet from anywhere in the departures lounge - even from most of the restaurants in the terminal.
If you fly frequently from OR Tambo International Airport you may want to buy 1 year worth of wireless access to the internet.
Medical clinic
The Airport Medical Clinic offers emergency treatment 24 hours a day, as well as:
quick care and casualties |
general practitioners |
travel vaccinations |
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malaria prophylaxis |
aviation medicals |
obesity treatment |
Botox treatments |
acupuncture |
a dentist |
an optician |
a gynaecologist |
a physiotherapist |
executive and employment medicals |
ECGs |
hearing, pregnancy and cholesterol tests |
Airport Medical Clinic
Tel: +27 (0)11 921 6609
Hotline: +27(0) 82 262 149
Four buses shuttle passengers between the remote parking area and the terminal buildings; the average waiting time is no more than 6 minutes a trip. The buses can accommodate standing passengers, seated passengers and people in wheelchairs. The remote parking areas are fitted with intercoms linked to ACSA's joint operations centre, which allows passengers to contact the helpdesk.
The airport's pay-on-foot system, in use since March 1999, reduces queues and speeds up the payment process. ACSA has strategically positioned 38 pay stations in all of the parking areas.
You pay by:
taking your parking ticket with you when leaving your vehicle;
inserting your ticket and the required amount at the pay station;
retrieving your ticket and returning to your vehicle; and
inserting your ticket at the exit to open the boom.
The system accepts cash and credit cards, but a credit card limit does apply.
ORTIA offers full portage services, so ensure you only use approved airport porters – who wear bright orange uniforms and navy-blue shirts, and carry ACSA permits. Porters can be found in the arrivals halls and outside the terminals in the area connecting the International Terminal and the Domestic Terminal. They work exclusively for tips: a general guide is to give R5 (five South African rands) a bag.
In order to curb illegal touting, ACSA has appointed a concessionary taxi and shuttle service that covers all major towns, suburbs, shopping centres and casinos.
Please only make use of ACSA accredited and approved transport operators. Aproved operators display the ACSA logo on their vehicles and are available outside the arrivals terminals. Please use airport-approved operators only. Contact the ACSA information desks if you need help.
To get to the taxi and shuttle terminus: follow the taxi and shuttle icons to the terminus, which is opposite International Arrivals (Terminal A).
To get to the bus and coach terminus: follow the bus and coach icons to the terminus, which is in the multi-storey parkade, behind the car-hire depots.
There are VAT refund desks in the public area of International Departures (for use before check-in) and in the holding lounge . You need to have all invoices stamped by customs officials (in the public concourse of the same terminal) before proceeding to the VAT refund outlet.
For every 10,000 aircraft movements at Johannesburg Airport (OR Tambo International Airport) there are on average 5 bird strikes. Standing water on the airfield attracts birds, so removing the water helps make the area less attractive for them. Food waste attracts gulls, so removing food waste quickly helps reduce the number seagulls. At OR Tambo International Airport a Border Collie works tirelessly with its handler to chase away the local birdlife (without harming them!).
photos of a takeoff in a northerly direction from O.R. Tambo International Airport |
20 Apr 2010 |
President Jacob Zuma unveils a plaque to officially open the Central Terminal Building at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport. |