Passengers departing on domestic flights from O. R. Tambo International Airport from Wednesday 15 November have been advised that public address microphones at the domestic departures terminal and gates will be switched off.
Standard operating procedures for most domestic flights require that passengers start boarding at least 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
The only instances where centralised terminal announcements will be made will be for irregular operations such as gate changes, flight time changes, security matters, system failures and customer service anomalies such as lost minors.
“We have noted that a consistent issue for passengers in independent customer surveys is noise levels in airports,” said O.R. Tambo International Airport spokesperson Leigh Gunkel-Keuler.
A particular concern for customers is the number and frequency of calls to board and calls for individual passengers who have checked in and then apparently gone missing.”
She said that many international airports have adopted a “silent airport” policy in an effort to improve airport ambience.
“We remain focused on providing the best passenger experience and this move is part of trying to meet customer expectations,” she said.
“We trust that passengers will exercise vigilance and appreciate their individual responsibilities in going to the boarding gate and boarding the aircraft in good time.”
BusinessTech…