Johannesburg — WITH just less than a year before the kick-off of the 2010 World Cup, OR Tambo International Airport is putting its preparations for next year's event to the test during this month's Confederation Cup.

Most of the seven foreign teams have arrived in the country, with Spain arriving yesterday and Egypt and Brazil due to arrive today. The opening match of the tournament kicks off this weekend at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

OR Tambo GM Chris Hlekane said yesterday that despite only 5000 fans and Fifa officials expected for the Confederations Cup, it would provide an opportunity to test the airport's procedures and plans ahead of next year's World Cup when more than 400000 fans are expected to descend on SA.

"While we are not expecting a large number of visitors for the event, it will allow us to check where there are problem areas and resolve them ahead of the World Cup. So far there have been few hiccups," said Hlekane.

The plans include arriving and departing teams being processed by a portable immigration unit away from the general public, and fast-tracking Fifa officials and guests through immigration. High- ranking Fifa officials and important guests will proceed through the state protocol lounge.

Parking has also been addressed, with the completion of the new multistorey parkade early in the year, and OR Tambo airport is now able to accommodate up to 16000 cars.

However, Hlekane said additional parking had been secured near Emperors Palace and capacity for metered taxis had increased from 70 to 100 vehicles.

"Of course, these arrangements apply only for the Confederations Cup as the Gautrain and other travel options will be in place for the World Cup."

Baggage handling has been improved with the implementation of a new sorting system last month that is able to sort up to 8000 bags an hour. Pilferage has dropped substantially with the introduction of the new system and tighter security around the baggage handlers.

"Incidents of pilferage have dropped from 36 a day to five now. This, however, is still not acceptable to us and we are working hard to reduce that number by half for 2010," said Hlekane.

Staff from Airports Company SA (Acsa) and other organisations are undergoing training to improve customer service. Additional staff will be employed to help passengers through the airport's iHelp system.

Hlekane said staff would be able to assist passengers in numerous languages, while for next year's World Cup the announcements would be made in languages appropriate for the arriving aircraft. "For example, if we have a Lufthansa aircraft arriving, announcements will be made in German and English," said Hlekane.

Among the facilities put in place at the airport's international pier are nine "contact stands", several of which can accommodate large airliners such as the A380. "While we do not expect large jets to be used at OR Tambo for some time due to the economic downturn, the contact stands can be used to disembark two aircraft at the same time," said Hlekane.

Acsa's 2010 plans will be consolidated and amended in August, more than a month after the Confederations Cup is over. The final plan will be signed off in March next year, after the final draw for the World Cup on December 9.

Hlekane said any additional costs incurred from the World Cup would be recouped from additional nonaeronautical revenue generated from visiting fans.

"We believe that the increase in revenue from our commercial operations, including retail and advertising, will more than compensate for any extra costs we incur," said Hlekane.