List of South African airports by passenger movements

Last updated May 24, 2025

The following is a list of South African airports by passenger movements.

Statistics

All information below is sourced from the annual statistics published by the Airports Company South Africa. Figures are between 1 April and 31 March the following year.^[1] Airports not controlled by the Airports Company South Africa do not generally publish or are delayed when updating their passenger statistics. Airports without official statistics have been displayed as current seat capacity on regularly scheduled flights.^[2]^[3] These seats, although not always full, give an accurate number of passengers expected.

2022/2023 statistics

Top 20 airports in South Africa by passenger movements
Rank	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total passengers^[i]	Notes
1	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Johannesburg, Gauteng	JNB/FAOR	15,622,216	^[4]
2	Cape Town International Airport	Cape Town, Western Cape	CPT/FACT	8,407,751	^[5]
3	King Shaka International Airport	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	DUR/FALE	4,307,419	^[6]
4	Lanseria International Airport	Pretoria, Gauteng	HLA/FALA	2,482,872	^[7]^[ii]
5	Port Elizabeth Airport	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	PLZ/FAPE	1,191,225	^[8]
6	East London Airport	East London, Eastern Cape	ELS/FAEL	714,598	^[9]
7	George Airport	George, Western Cape	GRJ/FAGG	757,567	^[10]
8	Bloemfontein Airport	Bloemfontein, Free State	BFN/FABL	318,135	^[11]
9	Hoedspruit Airport	Hoedspruit, Mpumalanga	HDS/FAHS	264,992	^[2]^[3]^[iii]^[iv]
10	Nelspruit Airport	Mbombela, Mpumalanga	MQP/FAKN	260,000	^[12]
11	Pietermaritzburg Airport	Pietermaritzburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal	PZB/FAPM	144,458	^[2]^[v]^[vi]
12	Kimberley Airport	Kimberley, Northern Cape	KIM/FAKM	137,875	^[13]
13	Upington Airport	Upington, Northern Cape	UTN/FAUP	49,818	^[14]
14	Skukuza Airport	Skukuza, Mpumalanga	SZK/FASZ	85,904	^[2]^[vii]^[viii]
15	Mthatha Airport	Mthatha, Eastern Cape	UTT/FAUT	76,960	^[2]^[ix]^[x]
16	Sishen Airport	Sishen, Northern Cape	SIS/FASS	73,112	^[2]^[xi]^[xii]
17	Polokwane Airport	Polokwane, Limpopo	PTG/FAPP	69,264	^[2]^[xiii]^[xiv]
18	Plettenberg Bay Airport	Plettenburg Bay, Western Cape	PBZ/FAPG	57,200	^[15]^[3]
19	Richards Bay Airport	Richards Bay, Kwa-Zulu Natal	RCB/FARB	51,272	^[2]^[xv]^[xvi]
20	Margate Airport	Margate, Kwa-Zulu Natal	MGH/FAMG	31,200	^[3]^[xvii]^[xviii]

Historical

At a glance

Annual (calendar) traffic on busiest S.A. airports. See Wikidata query.

2020–2022 COVID-19

During the lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic, most commercial flights were halted^[16] at first.

2012–13


Rank	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total passengers	% change
1.	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Johannesburg, Gauteng	JNB/FAOR	18,621,259	2.01%
2.	Cape Town International Airport	Cape Town, Western Cape	CPT/FACT	8,434,799	1.65%
3.	King Shaka International Airport	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	DUR/FALE	4,668,467	7.37%
4.	Port Elizabeth Airport	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	PLZ/FAPE	1,311,553	3.91%
5.	East London Airport	East London, Eastern Cape	ELS/FAEL	644,520	5.43%
6.	George Airport	George, Western Cape	GRJ/FAGG	544,306	5.47%
7.	Bloemfontein Airport	Bloemfontein, Free State	BFN/FABL	411,655	6.86%
8.	Kimberley Airport	Kimberley, Northern Cape	KIM/FAKM	151,405	7.95%
9.	Upington Airport	Upington, Northern Cape	UTN/FAUP	55,726	6.7%

2011–12


Rank	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total passengers	% change
1.	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Johannesburg, Gauteng	JNB/FAJS	19,004,001	1.82%
2.	Cape Town International Airport	Cape Town, Western Cape	CPT/FACT	8,576,709	4.27%
3.	King Shaka International Airport	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	DUR/FALE	5,040,094	3.14%
4.	Port Elizabeth Airport	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	PLZ/FAPE	1,364,976	3.67%
5.	East London Airport	East London, Eastern Cape	ELS/FAEL	681,529	12.42%
6.	George Airport	George, Western Cape	GRJ/FAGG	575,799	5.61%
7.	Bloemfontein Airport	Bloemfontein, Free State	BFN/FABL	441,954	5.82%
8.	Kimberley Airport	Kimberley, Northern Cape	KIM/FAKM	140,298	5.62%
9.	Upington Airport	Upington, Northern Cape	UTN/FAUP	52,224	7.68%

2010–11


Rank	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total passengers	% change
1.	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Johannesburg, Gauteng	JNB/FAJS	18,664,728	6.07%
2.	Cape Town International Airport	Cape Town, Western Cape	CPT/FACT	8,225,422	5.32%
3.	King Shaka International Airport	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	DUR/FALE	4,886,552	N/A
4.	Port Elizabeth Airport	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	PLZ/FAPE	1,416,922	4.99%
5.	East London Airport	East London, Eastern Cape	ELS/FAEL	778,184	14.95%
6.	George Airport	George, Western Cape	GRJ/FAGG	545,206	1.41%
7.	Bloemfontein Airport	Bloemfontein, Free State	BFN/FABL	417,642	5.14%
8.	Kimberley Airport	Kimberley, Northern Cape	KIM/FAKM	132,830	0.72%
9.	Upington Airport	Upington, Northern Cape	UTN/FAUP	48,498	14.8%

2009–10


Rank	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total passengers	% change
1.	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Johannesburg, Gauteng	JNB/FAJS	17,596,203	1.6%
2.	Cape Town International Airport	Cape Town, Western Cape	CPT/FACT	7,810,069	0.0%
3.	Durban International Airport	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	DUR/FADN	4,403,340	2.6%
4.	Port Elizabeth Airport	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	PLZ/FAPE	1,349,673	4.2%
5.	East London Airport	East London, Eastern Cape	ELS/FAEL	676,982	3.2%
6.	George Airport	George, Western Cape	GRJ/FAGG	537,600	10.9%
7.	Bloemfontein Airport	Bloemfontein, Free State	BFN/FABL	397,228	2.8%
8.	Kimberley Airport	Kimberley, Northern Cape	KIM/FAKM	131,885	12.7%
9.	Upington Airport	Upington, Northern Cape	UTN/FAUP	42,229	11.6%

2007–08


Rank	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total passengers	% change
1.	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Johannesburg, Gauteng	JNB/FAJS	19,457,798	9.3%
2.	Cape Town International Airport	Cape Town, Western Cape	CPT/FACT	8,426,618	12.1%
3.	Durban International Airport	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	DUR/FADN	4,792,553	12.6%
4.	Port Elizabeth Airport	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	PLZ/FAPE	1,512,924	5.1%
5.	East London Airport	East London, Eastern Cape	ELS/FAEL	741,290	6.4%
6.	George Airport	George, Western Cape	GRJ/FAGG	666,781	11.5%
7.	Bloemfontein Airport	Bloemfontein, Free State	BFN/FABL	412,873	16.7%
8.	Kimberley Airport	Kimberley, Northern Cape	KIM/FAKM	150,590	13.8%
9.	Upington Airport	Upington, Northern Cape	UTN/FAUP	48,765	20.0%

2006–07


Rank	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total passengers	% change
1.	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Johannesburg, Gauteng	JNB/FAJS	17,794,100	10.7%
2.	Cape Town International Airport	Cape Town, Western Cape	CPT/FACT	7,518,543	10.0%
3.	Durban International Airport	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	DUR/FADN	4,257,714	15.1%
4.	Port Elizabeth Airport	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	PLZ/FAPE	1,438,845	10.4%
5.	East London Airport	East London, Eastern Cape	ELS/FAEL	696,515	17.9%
6.	George Airport	George, Western Cape	GRJ/FAGG	597,910	2.3%
7.	Bloemfontein Airport	Bloemfontein, Free State	BFN/FABL	353,723	38.8%
8.	Kimberley Airport	Kimberley, Northern Cape	KIM/FAKM	132,358	14.6%
9.	Upington Airport	Upington, Northern Cape	UTN/FAUP	40,631	22.4%

2005–06


Rank	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total passengers	Rank change	% change
1.	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Johannesburg, Gauteng	JNB/FAJS	16,078,440		10.5%
2.	Cape Town International Airport	Cape Town, Western Cape	CPT/FACT	6,834,173		10.0%
3.	Durban International Airport	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	DUR/FADN	3,698,044		15.2%
4.	Port Elizabeth Airport	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	PLZ/FAPE	1,303,747		18.7%
5.	East London Airport	East London, Eastern Cape	ELS/FAEL	590,606	1	31.3%
6.	George Airport	George, Western Cape	GRJ/FAGG	584,562	1	23.3%
7.	Bloemfontein Airport	Bloemfontein, Free State	BFN/FABL	254,805		10.8%
8.	Kimberley Airport	Kimberley, Northern Cape	KIM/FAKM	115,506		18.1%
9.	Upington Airport	Upington, Northern Cape	UTN/FAUP	33,192		6.6%

2004–05


Rank	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total passengers	Rank change	% change
1.	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Johannesburg, Gauteng	JNB/FAJS	14,555,364	no data	no data
2.	Cape Town International Airport	Cape Town, Western Cape	CPT/FACT	6,214,903	no data	no data
3.	Durban International Airport	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	DUR/FADN	3,209,263	no data	no data
4.	Port Elizabeth Airport	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	PLZ/FAPE	1,098,679	no data	no data
5.	George Airport	George, Western Cape	GRJ/FAGG	474,024	no data	no data
6.	East London Airport	East London, Eastern Cape	ELS/FAEL	449,843	no data	no data
7.	Bloemfontein Airport	Bloemfontein, Free State	BFN/FABL	229,887	no data	no data
8.	Kimberley Airport	Kimberley, Northern Cape	KIM/FAKM	97,837	no data	no data
9.	Upington Airport	Upington, Northern Cape	UTN/FAUP	31,123	no data	no data

References

↑ Airports Company South Africa. "ACSA – Statistics". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Airline Flight Schedule" (PDF). Airlink. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
1 2 3 4 "CemAir / Scheduled flights in South Africa". www.flycemair.co.za. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
↑ "ACSA JNB Passenger Statistics" (PDF).
↑ "ACSA CPT Airport Statistics" (PDF).
↑ "ACSA DURBAN Airport Statistics" (PDF).
↑ "2.2.2 South Africa Lanseria International Airport | Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments". dlca.logcluster.org. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
↑ "ACSA PLZ Airport Statistics" (PDF).
↑ "ACSA EAST LONDON Airport Statistics" (PDF).
↑ "ACSA GRJ Airport Statistics" (PDF).
↑ "ACSA BLOEMFONTEIN Airport Statistics" (PDF).
↑ hendrik_admin. "Our Airport". KMI Airport. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
↑ "ACSA Kimberley Airport Statistics" (PDF).
↑ "ACSA Upington Airport Statistics" (PDF).
↑ "Plett Airport's future in the balance". Knysna-Plett Herald. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
↑ "Lockdown: These are the only flights you can take in – or out of – SA". Blue Sky Publications. 31 March 2020. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2022.

↑ Departing and arriving passengers
↑ 2019 Statistics
↑ 35 weekly flights (21 Johannesburg 1,512 Seats) (14 Cape Town 1036 Seats) 2,548 x 52
↑ Seat Capacity Calculation
↑ 25 weekly flights on Airlink (17 E135, 1 E170 and 7 E190) 1,389 weekly seats x 52
↑ Seat Capacity Calculation
↑ 21 weekly flights (14 Johannesburg 567 Seats) (7 Cape Town 259 Seats) 829 x 52
↑ Seat Capacity Calculation
↑ 20 weekly flights on Airlink (20 E135) 740 weekly seats x 52
↑ Seat Capacity Calculation
↑ 19 weekly flights on Airlink (19 E135) 705 weekly seats x 52
↑ Seat Capacity Calculation
↑ 18 weekly flights on Airlink (18 E135) 666 weekly seats x 52
↑ Seat Capacity Calculation
↑ 17 weekly flights on Airlink (17 BJ41) 493 weekly seats x 52
↑ Seat Capacity Calculation
↑ 6 weekly flights on Cemair (6 DASH 8-300) 300 weekly seats x 52
↑ Seat Capacity Calculation

External links

Airports Company of South Africa

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] Airports Company South Africa. "ACSA – Statistics". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2010.

[:0-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Airline Flight Schedule" (PDF). Airlink. Retrieved 10 June 2023.

[:1-3] 1 2 3 4 "CemAir / Scheduled flights in South Africa". www.flycemair.co.za. Retrieved 10 June 2023.

[5] "ACSA JNB Passenger Statistics" (PDF).

[6] "ACSA CPT Airport Statistics" (PDF).

[7] "ACSA DURBAN Airport Statistics" (PDF).

[8] "2.2.2 South Africa Lanseria International Airport | Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments". dlca.logcluster.org. Retrieved 10 June 2023.

[10] "ACSA PLZ Airport Statistics" (PDF).

[11] "ACSA EAST LONDON Airport Statistics" (PDF).

[12] "ACSA GRJ Airport Statistics" (PDF).

[13] "ACSA BLOEMFONTEIN Airport Statistics" (PDF).

[16] rik_admin. "Our Airport". KMI Airport. Retrieved 10 June 2023.

[19] "ACSA Kimberley Airport Statistics" (PDF).

[20] "ACSA Upington Airport Statistics" (PDF).

[29] "Plett Airport's future in the balance". Knysna-Plett Herald. Retrieved 10 June 2023.

[Head2020-03-31-34] "Lockdown: These are the only flights you can take in – or out of – SA". Blue Sky Publications. 31 March 2020. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2022.

[4] Departing and arriving passengers

[9] 2019 Statistics

[14] 35 weekly flights (21 Johannesburg 1,512 Seats) (14 Cape Town 1036 Seats) 2,548 x 52

[15] Seat Capacity Calculation

[17] 25 weekly flights on Airlink (17 E135, 1 E170 and 7 E190) 1,389 weekly seats x 52

[18] Seat Capacity Calculation

[21] 21 weekly flights (14 Johannesburg 567 Seats) (7 Cape Town 259 Seats) 829 x 52

[22] Seat Capacity Calculation

[23] 20 weekly flights on Airlink (20 E135) 740 weekly seats x 52

[24] Seat Capacity Calculation

[25] 19 weekly flights on Airlink (19 E135) 705 weekly seats x 52

[26] Seat Capacity Calculation

[27] 18 weekly flights on Airlink (18 E135) 666 weekly seats x 52

[28] Seat Capacity Calculation

[30] 17 weekly flights on Airlink (17 BJ41) 493 weekly seats x 52

[31] Seat Capacity Calculation

[32] 6 weekly flights on Cemair (6 DASH 8-300) 300 weekly seats x 52

[33] Seat Capacity Calculation

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[16]

v t e Passenger airports of South Africa
International	Cape Town Durban–King Shaka Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo Mbombela
Domestic	Bloemfontein East London George Gqeberha Johannesburg–Lanseria Kimberley Mala Mala Mthatha Pietermaritzburg Polokwane Richards Bay Skukuza Ulundi Upington
Unscheduled	Wonderboom
Closed	Durban–International
Statistics

v t e List of the busiest airports in Africa
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)