Cape Town - Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) has not only been
voted the best in Africa at the 2017 Skytrax World Airport Awards -
but the airport which recently facilitated its highest volume of
passengers in 2016 in excess of 10m passengers has managed to climb
three spots higher than last year from 22nd to 19th in the top 100
list.


The awards held in Amsterdam on Wednesday March 14 are among the most
prestigious accolades in the aviation industry - seeing Cape Town
International Airport clinching 19th spot in The World’s Top 100
Airports - 2017.


Minister of Economic Opportunities in Western Cape Alan Winde
congratulated CTIA saying the Skytrax World Airport Awards are the
benchmark for excellence in aviation.


Durban King Shaka retained the same ranking at 35th spot in the top
100 Airports list and was also voted the best Regional airport in
Africa.


King Shaka which also saw record breaking arrivals in 2016 was voted
the 6th best Regional Airport for 2017 with Japan Centrair Nagoya
clinching top Regional airport spot. Three of SA other regional
airports also featured in the list with East London ranked 2nd Port
Elizabeth ranked 3rd and Bloemfontein ranked 4th - boding well for
domestic travel all round.


Johannesburg come in at 37th position in the top 100 airports list
overall slipping some seven spots when compared to last

year ranking.
But it ranks considerably better than the US’s equally busy JFK
Airport which came in at 67th position in this year list.


These awards are significant because they are based on customer
satisfaction as voted by travellers - The 2017 Awards are in fact
based on 13.82 million airport survey questionnaires completed by 105
different nationalities of airline customers during the survey
period.


I would like to commend Deon Cloete and the CTIA team for the great
work they are doing in contributing to the growth of the tourism
sector says Winde.


According to Winde the CTIA is also a partner in the Cape Town Air
Access initiative which has landed seven new routes and facilitated
ten route expansions for our region, since its launch in 2015.


This has increased capacity at CTIA by over 600 000 seats and
generated over R3 billion in tourism spend for the Western Cape. In
2016 CTIA also achieved a major milestone when they reached the 10
million passenger per year mark. These trends speak to CTIA as a
world-class airport which is setting the standard for customer service
says Winde.


The world top 20 airports according to Skytrax for 2017 (2016 ranking) :
1 Singapore Changi (1)
2 Tokyo Intl Haneda (4)
3 Incheon Intl Airport (2) V.1912

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

 V.6130
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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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