Two old South African Airways postcards from the 1960s show just how much things have changed, and not just the paint schemes either.

The first photo shows a 727 “heading north” over Johannesburg. It really was a mining town then – ungrassed mine dumps all around, no M2 freeway, no Carlton Centre … Now most of the mine dumps have been recovered and those that are left will eventually follow.

The second postcard shows Jan Smuts Airport, now Oliver Tambo International, some time in the late 60s, with a line-up that includes a Vickers Viscount turboprop and one of the much-loved 727s in the foreground.

Those buildings have long gone although the red-brick control tower survived into this century, only to be demolished to make way for the new domestic terminal.

PHOTOS: SAA publicity material

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