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Home Affairs responds to fears of festive chaos

Source: Tourism Update, 28/10/2016


Before new measures, immigration queues at OR Tambo were taking an
average of three hours to clear.


The Department of Home Affairs does not have plans to suspend the
capture of biometrics at ports of entry over the festive season,
neither is it authorised to employ a greater number of immigration
officials to cope with the greater number of travellers
expected.


The department revealed as much at a media briefing on Friday morning,
which followed a meeting between the department and industry
associations including the TBCSA, the Board of Airline Representatives
of SA and the Airline Association of Southern Africa.


Director General Mkuseli Apleni says the Department will, however,
look at extending the opening hours at some ports of entry to 24
hours. He also said for certain ports such as OR Tambo International,
additional staff would be redeployed from areas where they are not
busy, in order to help existing capacity cope with the extended
hours.


Ultimately the plan is for the airport to operate with a full staff
complement and all counters open from around December 8 to January
10.


While Apleni made no reference to other changes to the implementation
of biometric capturing at OR Tambo, Tourism Update understand that a
new queue system has been implemented.


On Friday, there were three queues at immigration at OR Tambo`s
international arrivals hall: one for SA citizens, one for those
requiring visas and one for those who don`t require visas. Irish
tourists arriving on a morning flight took 35 minutes to clear
immigration. They went into the queue for no visas required and their
biometrics were not taken.


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