Air travel in South Africa Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
South Africa is the most developed country in Africa, with one of the strongest economies of the continent. Therefore a high number of flights in Africa is to or from a destination in South Africa. See below for more information on Cape Town International.
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Airlines
- Comair - Affiliate of British Airways in South Africa. Operates to most major cities.
- Interair - one of the smaller airlines of the country. Mainly operates to destinations in Central Africa.
- Nationwide - serves major cities in South Africa and has flights to the Victoria Falls and London.
- South African Airways (SAA) - flag carrier. Has a big network to most South African cities and operates a wide range of International flights to/from North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
- SA Airlink and SA Express are the regional arms of SAA and operate mostly to smaller airports from Johannesburg and Cape Town or on low-density routes.
Smaller airlines like Civair or NAC normally operate charter flights, but sometimes have a few local routes.
A real adventoure is flying with an old classic airliner. There are some tour operators offering such flights, mainly in the Gauteng region. One example is Rovos Air, a divison of Rovos Rail.
Low-fare
- 1Time has flights to major cities in South Africa
- Kulula.com was the first sub-saharan discount airline in Africa.
See also Discount airlines in Africa.
Airports
Johannesburg Int. and Cape Town Int. are the two major international gateways for tourists and foreign visitors. There are some other important airports, too.
Eastern Cape
Gauteng
- Johannesburg International - the major sub-saharan hub.
- Lanseria - mainly used for smaller charter, cargo and classic airlines flights, it is in fact busier than Joburg International & sees more air traffic. (Kulula.com [1] is currently flying a commercial flight to Cape Town from the airport.)
- Rand - primarily a business and general aviation airport.
KwaZulu-Natal
Western Cape
- Cape Town International - the second biggest airport in South Africa.
- George
There are many more airports. All bigger cities have an airport that is in most cases connected with JIA by one of the South African Airways family members
Cape Town International (CPT)
The airport is located around 20km east from the city centre of Cape Town. It can easily reached by all National Roads and situated directly at the N2 near Bellville. All bigger South African airlines (see above) operate from here to most airports in the country.
International traffic
A growing number of International airlines fly into CPT. These are:
- Air Mauritius - Mauritius
- Air Namibia - Windhoek, Oranjemund, Lüderitz, Walvis Bay
- Air Botswana - Maun
- Air Kenya - Nairobi
- British Airways - London-Heathrow
- KLM - Amsterdam
- Lufthansa - Frankfurt, Munich (seasonal)
- Malaysia Airlines - Kuala Lumpur, Buenos Aires
- Qatar Airways - Doha
- Singapore Airlines - Singapore
- Turkish Airlines - Istanbul
- Varig - Brazil
- Virgin Atlantic - London-Heathrow
South African Airways and South African Express operate some international routes from CPT, but for the majority of destinations you will have to fly via Johannesburg. Some flights offered are to Frankfurt, London, Gaborone, and few cities in Namibia.
Durban International Airport (DUR)
Durban Airport is served by all major South African airlines. Flights to most citites are operated. A number of smaller cities are however not connected from here.
International flights take place to Mauritius (Air Mauritius) and Swaziland (with Swazi Express Airways and South African Express).
