No flights delayed in Cape Town yet‚ but weather could cause problems

So far‚ so good for travellers coming into and leaving the Mother City by plane. But those with flight bookings should stay in touch with their airlines throughout the day as this could change.

Deidre Davids‚ spokesperson for the Airports Company South Africa‚ said: "Thankfully we haven’t had any flights delayed or cancelled so far and all have been operating as per schedule."

She did added‚ however‚ that "your airline should have your direct contact details and should let you know if anything changes."

Davids warned that the real danger was actually the trip to and from the airport.

"Although the roads to and from Cape Town International Airport are quieter today‚ they are extremely wet. Please give yourself enough time to get there slowly. Don’t do a last-minute rush thing."

She said that while the situation was good now‚ "if the weather gets worse‚ we could be looking at flights being delayed or cancelled‚ but we are hoping not."

She urged everyone to be "patient and tolerant" if the weather has an impact on flights.

On Tuesday‚ Guy Leitch‚ editor of SA Flyer magazine‚ said on CapeTalk radio that "all aircraft have very defined limits as to what crosswind component and other winds they can tolerate"‚ and that on short-haul flights "the decision is usually to the pilot".

He added‚ however‚ that at a certain level of wind‚ "it transcends pilot decision-making and SAA's global operations command unit could then simply say we are cancelling or postponing [flights]".