Before it was contained, a fire that started at Cape Town International Airport on Tuesday forced passengers to evacuate and caused delays in international flights to and from the well-known tourist destination in South Africa.
As smoke filled the terminal and sirens sounded to warn of an emergency evacuation, pictures circulated online showed travelers packing their bags and leaving South Africa’s second-busiest airport.
“Cape Town International Airport confirms that a fire occurred on the landslide of the airport,” Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said in a statement, adding that the blaze had been “extinguished” with no injuries.
“As a precautionary measure, international departures have been temporarily suspended, and incoming international flights are being diverted,” the statement said, as the fire had affected “network and IT services”.
International flights that had already landed were still being processed, it said.
The fire occurred just days after the announcement of a major phased infrastructure upgrade project at the airport.
According to ACSA statistics, Cape Town airport recorded 11.1 million two-way passengers in 2025, including 3.33 million international travellers.
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