Cape Town Taxi Violence Causes Chaos at International Airport

• Cape Town International Airport faced severe disruptions on Friday, 30 October 2026, as taxi-related unrest left staff struggling to report for duty
• FlySafair confirmed that ongoing violence in the city was causing flight delays and urged passengers to monitor updates from their airlines
• ACSA advised travellers to allow an additional four hours for airport processing as rival taxi associations clashed across parts of Cape Town

WESTERN CAPE - Cape Town International Airport ground to a near standstill on Friday, 30 October 2026, as ongoing taxi violence in the city left the facility critically short-staffed, creating long queues and rattling thousands of travellers.

Passengers reported waiting for hours just to check in, with anxiety rising among those who feared missing their flights as departure times crept closer. Airline staff walked the length of the queues, calling out flight numbers to ensure those with imminent departures could get through in time.

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FlySafair warns of flight delays

FlySafair was among the first to address the disruption publicly, posting a statement on X.

"Hi, Cape Town airport operations are currently being impacted by unrest in the area, which has resulted in airport staff shortages and delays to several flights," the airline wrote.

It added that its teams were focused on getting passengers to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible. The airline also apologised for the inconvenience caused.

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) backed up the warning, advising all travellers bound for Cape Town International to build in an extra four hours for airport processing. The airport itself urged passengers to arrive well ahead of their scheduled departures, cautioning that traffic disruptions linked to the unrest could compound delays before travellers even reached the terminal.

See video posted on X here:

Rival taxi associations fuelling the unrest

The chaos at the airport stems from a violent feud between two rival taxi associations, the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (CODETA). At the heart of the dispute is a contested route linking Delft, Langa and Epping. The clashes have claimed roughly a dozen lives and thrown public transport into disarray across several parts of the city.

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Closures at key taxi ranks, including the Palms taxi rank in Delft, have compounded the situation for ordinary commuters. While some taxi services have partially resumed, airport workers have found it difficult to travel to work, leaving the facility understaffed at one of its busiest entry points.

Travellers are advised to check for updates directly with their airlines before leaving for the airport and to plan their journeys with significant extra time.

SANTACO annot guarantee the safety of passengers

Briefly News reported that the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the Western Cape has conceded that it is unable to guarantee the safety of commuters as deadly violence between rival taxi associations continues to destabilise parts of Cape Town. SANTACO Western Cape spokesperson Makhosandile Tumana made the admission during an interview with Africa Melane on 702 and CapeTalk, saying the conflict had moved beyond the organisation's capacity to manage.

Source: Briefly News