Pilanesberg International - lost city missing out

Just 10 km away from Sun City is the Pilanesberg International airport. The airport was established in 1981 to service the high number of visitors to the very popular Sun City hotel complex and game reserves in the area. The annual Million Dollar golf challenge during December kept the airport on the international radar and it was upgraded and extended in 1999 when Airport Company SA (ACSA) took over the management.

Sad to say, but since then the operations at the airport slowly deteriorated. There are no more scheduled flights to Pilanesberg. There can be several reasons for the declining number of passengers at the airport: general state of the economy, more self-drive visitors, more casinos in rest of South Africa, I don't know what else. The North West provincial government took over the management of the airport in 2011.

During our visit there on a Thursday morning, there were no flight activities. Staff at the check-in counters were lying down, trying to sleep. Others were loitering around, looking bored. 

The Million Dollar Golf Challenge event is happening soon. Hopefully this will wake every one up again and passengers will stream into this beautiful part of South Africa.