Ekurhuleni ward councillor Simon Lapping said the fire at OR Tambo International Airport raised serious safety concerns.
In a statement released on Monday, airport authorities said that a veld fire spilled over from the neighbouring community.
As a result, one runway had to be closed but was subsequently reopened after the blaze was contained.
The Democratic Alliance’s Lapping is the councillor for ward 17 in Ekurhuleni, which covers the airport.
He said the fire’s brought several questions to the fore.
“As OR Tambo is the international hub of South Africa and southern Africa and many flights from Europe and around the world come to this airport, it is of utmost importance and safety is a priority. And because of this fire, it has caused a shadow of doubt on our abilities to be able to create some sort of safety at an airport when a fire rages out of control for the rest of the day,” Lapping said.
He said the incident needed to be thoroughly investigated.
“Now I think what should happen is that Iata should be involved in the investigating this and the Civil Aviation Authority, as this is also affecting the flight of airplanes coming into South Africa.”
RE-OPENING OF RUNWAY pic.twitter.com/qIVmL3efcK
— ORTambo (@ortambo_int) September 5, 2022
-EWN
In other news – Kabza De Small allegedly gets married to his long-time girlfriend, Kamo
Self-proclaimed amapiono king Kabza De Small has allegedly put a ring on it. This after his long-time girlfriend, Kamogelo Gello Moropa, shared pictures wearing a diamond ring on her wedding finger.
Kamogelo posted one of her pictures on her social media page and captioned it “Mrs”. The couple got hitched in a private ceremony in September last year where Kabza De Small paid lobola. Learn More
