Passengers leaving through OR Tambo International Airport are facing growing frustration over long immigration queues, with some travellers forced to arrive hours earlier than planned to avoid the risk of missing their flights.
The delays have raised concerns about the number of immigration officers available to process passengers, as well as the infrastructure and coordination between agencies responsible for moving travellers through one of the country’s busiest international airports.
The Border Management Authority (BMA) has acknowledged that it is operating with far fewer immigration officers than it requires, while Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and the BMA are now working on changes to the airport layout to help ease the congestion.
BMA making use of amaPanyaza
BMA chief commissioner Mike Masiapato told Sunday World that the authority is operating at only about 25% of its required staffing capacity, with about 2,520 employees against an estimated requirement of 11,200.
To help ease the pressure, Gauteng’s Department of Community Safety provided 80 crime prevention wardens, popularly known as amaPanyaza, to assist at OR Tambo.
Masiapato said the wardens had been appointed as immigration officers and had been working at the airport for about 12 months while the BMA waits for funding to recruit more permanent immigration officers.
“They are working here. We appointed them as immigration officers, and they are assisting us in the interim, whilst we are waiting for more money as the Border Management Authority to be able to employ more immigration officers.”
The additional personnel appear to have made little difference on departures, but Masapiato said this had helped improve the processing of passengers arriving in South Africa, with fewer complaints about congestion on that side of the airport.
The departure side, however, remains a headache.
@Airports_ZA what is going on at OR Tambo security and passport control are an absolute disaster. Second international flight in less than a month where there is insufficient staff.
— Wayne Holt (@wholt79) September 27, 2026
Sources close to the situation told Sunday World that passengers are regularly arriving at the airport significantly earlier than planned because of uncertainty over how long it will take to clear immigration.
“It has been a headache for travellers and it does not assist that most agencies are short-staffed. But even with amaPanyaza, we are still struggling,” said the source.
Masiapato said the problem could not be attributed to staffing alone and that the airport’s infrastructure and layout were also contributing to the congestion.
I’m at Immigration at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg South Africa. This is a f****** joke. Home Affiars @HomeAffairsSA you are having a laugh. No border agents no Immigration agents at the countries largest airport! Unacceptable! https://t.co/9SDEfhoIDM
— Aubrey T Ndisengei (@ShihanTiger) September 27, 2026
The BMA and ACSA leadership met to discuss the problem and agreed to repurpose areas currently used for domestic security screening for international passengers.
The plan will allow BMA immigration officers to operate from the additional spaces and increase the capacity available to process departing travellers. Masiapato said the intervention was expected to be implemented soon.
“People don’t necessarily care who does what, whether it’s ACSA this, whether it’s BMA that. They just want better processing, and they want to be able to move quicker,” he said.
BMA rolling out new technology
The airport congestion comes as the BMA continues to roll out new technology intended to make border processing faster.
President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system at OR Tambo on August 12 as part of efforts to modernise the country’s immigration system.
The system, which uses biometric verification and passport information, is currently being rolled out to selected countries, including Mexico, Indonesia, China and India, with plans to expand it to additional visa categories.
Masiapato said the system allows officials to verify travellers before they reach the immigration counter by comparing the applicant’s image with their passport photograph and checking the information against relevant databases.
During the system’s launch, a traveller was processed in about 47 seconds, demonstrating the potential for technology to reduce pressure on immigration officials.
The BMA’s longer-term plan is to introduce e-gates for South Africans returning to the country, allowing eligible passengers to complete the process with minimal human intervention.
Masiapato said ACSA was finalising the processes required for the installation of the e-gates.
Corruption compounds the problems
But while the authority works towards that future system, the BMA is also battling another challenge at the country’s borders: corruption.
Masiapato was speaking at the Border Management and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum’s quarterly anti-corruption campaign at OR Tambo on Friday, where the authority reaffirmed its zero-tolerance approach to fraud, corruption and misconduct at ports of entry.
He said corruption in the border environment could involve immigration officers, customs officials, port operators or anyone exercising discretionary powers.
Among the concerns are officials colluding with travellers or third parties to avoid duties and taxes, facilitating the movement of illicit goods, soliciting bribes for services that should be provided normally and fraudulently issuing travel documents.
Masiapato said 57 BMA employees had been subjected to disciplinary processes during the last quarter.
Of those, 17 had been dismissed, while 33 were still facing disciplinary processes, with most of the cases involving immigration officers and allegations of corrupt activities.
He said the authority was also using people who had served prison sentences to speak to current officials about the consequences of corruption.
Masiapato said the BMA was required under Section 133 of the Border Management Authority Act to vet its employees, monitor their lifestyles and identify officials whose standard of living appeared inconsistent with their known income.
- OR Tambo International Airport is experiencing long immigration queues, causing passengers to arrive hours earlier to avoid missing flights.
- The Border Management Authority (BMA) is operating at about 25% of its required staffing capacity with 2,520 employees instead of the 11,200 needed.
- Gauteng’s Department of Community Safety provided 80 crime prevention wardens (amaPanyaza) to assist as interim immigration officers at OR Tambo.
- The BMA and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) plan to repurpose domestic security screening areas for international passengers to ease congestion.
- The BMA is combating corruption at ports of entry, with 57 employees disciplined recently, including 17 dismissals, mostly due to corrupt activities.
