Passengers departing on domestic flights from O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg from Wednesday 15 November are advised that public address microphones at the Domestic Departures Terminal and gates will be switched off.
Standard operating procedures for most domestic flights require that passengers start boarding at least 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
From Wednesday, no passenger boarding calls will be made.
Passengers are advised to check their boarding pass and the flight information display boards for boarding times.
The only instances where centralised terminal announcements will be made will be for irregular operations such as gate changes, flight time changes, security matters, system failures and customer service anomalies such as lost minors.
ORTIA made the decision after independent customer research into noise levels at the airport.
According to the findings, a particular concern for customers was the number and frequency of calls to board and calls for individual passengers who had checked in and then apparently gone missing.
Many international airports are now adopting “silent airport” policies in an effort to improve airport ambience.