Calls for patience over airport's immigration system

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Pretoria - Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has called for passengers travelling through OR Tambo International Airport to exercise patience following recent changes to the airport's immigration system.

On Wednesday, 350 former SANDF officers for the first time assumed their duties as immigration officers at the airport.

"As with all transitional measures, the deployment of the new immigration officers was accompanied by delays in the facilitation of movement of travellers in and out of the country. However, every effort is being made to ensure the system is back to normal as soon as possible," the department said.

Dlamini Zuma was confident that the efficiency of the new immigration officers would improve with time, adding that stringent immigration measures aimed at ensuring the security of the country's ports of entry were in place.