Operations at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg returned to normal following a jet-fuel leak on Tuesday, the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) said.
Flights were delayed by up to two hours on Tuesday because of the leak.
Acsa spokesperson Solomon Makgale said the fuel system was shut down as a precautionary measure after the leak was discovered early on Tuesday morning.
”Six flights were delayed by the leak to my knowledge, and the time they were delayed will vary depending on when the aircraft was scheduled to depart.”
South African Airways (SAA) flights were delayed by about two hours, spokesperson Jacqui O’Sullivan said.
At least 21 domestic SAA flights were affected, mainly between Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, East London, Cape Town and Durban.
”All SAA’s flights are now operating as scheduled,” she said.
Flights from Nationwide were delayed by about 30 minutes.
Makgale said technicians were deployed to deal with the leakage.
”Environmental experts have been sent to implement containment measures at the Blaauwpan Dam to minimise the impact. Our priority was to isolate the problem, which we have done so far; now we are focusing on discovering the cause of the problem.”
The smell of fuel led to the discovery of the leak shortly before 6am. — Sapa