Travel Tips during the World Cup
Advice from South African Airlines
The following is the latest travel advice from South African Airlines for the World Cup travel period:
With all the excitement in South Africa, South African airports will be abuzz with quite a bit more activity than usual. Most of it will be rowdy soccer/football fans. If you were lucky enough to snag a ticket, you will probably also be one of the loud and excited travelers. Some of you will be headed out to photograph wildlife. Traveling with large camera equipment as carry-on is always tough. During the World Cup, we expect security and regulations to be closely enforced by both the airlines and the security organizations … as it should be. We encourage you to follow these tips to make your experience much easier.
- Check-in
SAA has made your travel experience much more enjoyable by offering the convenience of on-line check-in at www.flysaa.com. On-line check-in is available 24 hours before your departure time, whether or not you are traveling with checked baggage. For frequently asked questions regarding online check in please visit www.flysaa.com and click on the Online Check-in icon. To view a demo of on-line check-in just click here.
Self-service check-in kiosks are located at our stations in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth for domestic flights within South Africa. If you are holding an E-Ticket, you can use the kiosks and receive your boarding pass in as little as 20 seconds, avoiding lines. Please make sure that you have positive identification at the boarding gates. Check-in time is two hours prior to departure for domestic flights and three hours prior to departure for international flights.
- Factor in extra time
Factor in extra traveling time to the airport, as the roads leading to airports will be congested by buses transporting fans. Customers are advised to check in well in advance, as the airport drop-off zones, airport terminals and parking areas will also be congested. - Flight closure times
Domestic flights close 30 minutes prior to departure and international flights to/from the US close 50 minutes prior to departure. Please do not be late! - Hand luggage requirements
The allocation for carry-on luggage in Economy Class is one piece weighing no more than 8 kilograms (approximately 17 pounds) and two pieces for passengers in Premium Business Class at no more than 8 kilograms per bag. The total dimensions of each bag must not exceed 115cm (approximately 45 inches).
SAA 747
Durban is characterized by way a mild subtropical climate with heat rainy summers and mild wet to dry winters, that are frost-free. Alternatively, due to massive altitude variations, a few western suburbs get rather chilly within the winter. Durban has an annual rainfall of 1,009 millimetres (39.7 in) The typical annual temperature is 21 °C (70 °F), with daylight maxima peaking from January to March at 28 °C (eighty two °F) and the minimal is 21 °C (70 °F), dropping to sunlight hours highs from June to August of 23 °C (seventy three °F) and the minimum is 11 °C (fifty two °F). Break of day in Durban is at 04h45 *(04h15) and sunset is 19h00 in summer season & upward push at 06h30 and set at 17h20 in winter.