Fallen tree on Eskom power line causes outage at OR Tambo Airport

The Ekurhuleni local municipality has confirmed that a tree fell on an Eskom overhead power line, which led to a temporary power outage that affected OR Tambo International Airport.

According to the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), the power disruption happened on Thursday evening just after 7 pm.

ACSA says the Airport’s backup generators were activated within 15 seconds of the power loss, ensuring airport operations were not impacted.

The company confirmed that the electricity supply from the municipality was restored on Friday afternoon.

This latest incident follows last month’s disruptions to flights after airlines were unable to refuel their aircraft.

Ekurhuleni Municipality spokesperson Zweli Dlamini says, “A tree fell on the Eskom overhead power line, and the city had to wait for Eskom to conclude their repairs before power could be restored to the residents at the airport. We do apologize for the inconvenience that was caused, but this was an issue that was beyond our control.”