Airlines 'won't rip off passengers'
2010-03-02 14:13
Durban - Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has assured visitors that they will not be ripped off by airline companies during the World Cup in June.
"There will be no ripping off by increasing airfares," said at Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday after touring the facility with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, Local Organising Committee chairperson Irvin Khoza and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Zweli Mkhize.
Motlanthe said that although prices were determined by the airline companies, he believed that people would not be ripped off.
His comment followed concerns that some airline companies were inflating prices in a "get rich quick" scheme.
The Competition Commission has announced that it is investigating collusion among South African airlines on World Cup prices and pricing strategies.
A soccer-lover, Motlanthe jokingly said he felt he could put on his football boots and test his skills at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
He was pleased that World Cup stadiums were being completed, but said there was still more work to be done, including preparing to deal with the movement of people during the tournament.
"We also need to make sure that we garner the spirit of ubuntu before our visitors arrive," he said.
Motlanthe was hopeful that an African team would win the World Cup.
"The cup will remain in this continent. It is a chance of a lifetime," he said.
South Africa expected the arrival of about 500 000 soccer spectators in the country between June 11 and July 11.
Motlanthe said the benefits of hosting the World Cup were already being felt by the economy and South Africans, through among others the employment of people in the building of infrastructure such as roads and stadiums.
The country would also benefit from tourism as some visitors would come back after the tournament.
The Moses Mabhida Stadium has a sky car, an adventure walk, retail outlets and a bungee swing facility to make sure that it does not become a white elephant after the World Cup. It has already generated more than R1m.
- SAPA