South African billionaire Rob Hersov plans to build the “Lanseria Airport of Cape Town” 13km northeast of Durbanville.
Its location, half-way between the Cape Town’s CBD and Paarl, makes Cape Winelands Airport the ideal spot for the city’s second commercial airport.
The airport’s history
Nestled in the world-famous winelands on a 150ha site, Cape Winelands Airport (formerly Fisantekraal Airfield) is a former South African Airforce airfield. It was built by the SAAF in 1943 to operate its Lockheed Ventura Bombers.
Of the four original runways, two remain operational while the other two are used as Hollywood favourites for movie and film production.
The airport today
The preferred base for flight training in the region, Cape Winelands Airport now operates privately as a general flying airfield. The airport has been home to the Cape Town Flight Training Centre (CTFTC) since 2003. In addition, it manages numerous aircraft hangars for the storage and maintenance of private aircraft and helicopters, with plenty of room for further development and ancillary services.
Hersov told Biznews that he partnered with Nick Ferguson to buy Fisantekraal Airport in in 2020 with the goal of creating a competitor to Cape Town international airport.
With his excellent credentials and connections, as well as extensive global business experience, Hersov seems to be the perfect person to take Cape Winelands Airport international.
Listen to Rob Hersov discuss his plans with BizNews
DID YOU KNOW?
- The largest aircraft to have landed at Cape Winelands Airport was the Lockheed C-130 Hercules on 22 August 2017.
- Many advertisements and movies have also been filmed on location at Cape Winelands Airport, including the following productions:
- Fear Factor (Endemol Productions)
- Getaway Car (BBC)
- Homeland (Showtime Productions)
- The Crown (Netflix)
- Kissing Booth 2 (Netflix)
SOURCES: BizNews, My Broadband