# List of South African airports by passenger movements

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. 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. 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 | Notes |
| 1 | O. R. Tambo International Airport | Johannesburg, Gauteng | JNB/FAOR | 15,622,216 | |
| 2 | Cape Town International Airport | Cape Town, Western Cape | CPT/FACT | 8,407,751 | |
| 3 | King Shaka International Airport | Durban, KwaZulu-Natal | DUR/FALE | 4,307,419 | |
| 4 | Lanseria International Airport | Pretoria, Gauteng | HLA/FALA | 2,482,872 | |
| 5 | Port Elizabeth Airport | Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape | PLZ/FAPE | 1,191,225 | |
| 6 | East London Airport | East London, Eastern Cape | ELS/FAEL | 714,598 | |
| 7 | George Airport | George, Western Cape | GRJ/FAGG | 757,567 | |
| 8 | Bloemfontein Airport | Bloemfontein, Free State | BFN/FABL | 318,135 | |
| 9 | Hoedspruit Airport | Hoedspruit, Mpumalanga | HDS/FAHS | 264,992 | |
| 10 | Nelspruit Airport | Nelspruit, Mpumalanga | MQP/FAKN | 260,000 | |
| 11 | Pietermaritzburg Airport | Pietermaritzburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal | PZB/FAPM | 144,458 | |
| 12 | Kimberley Airport | Kimberley, Northern Cape | KIM/FAKM | 137,875 | |
| 13 | Upington Airport | Upington, Northern Cape | UTN/FAUP | 49,818 | |
| 14 | Skukuza Airport | Skukuza, Mpumalanga | SZK/FASZ | 85,904 | |
| 15 | Mthatha Airport | Mthatha, Eastern Cape | UTT/FAUT | 76,960 | |
| 16 | Sishen Airport | Sishen, Northern Cape | SIS/FASS | 73,112 | |
| 17 | Polokwane Airport | Polokwane, Limpopo | PTG/FAPP | 69,264 | |
| 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 | |
| 20 | Margate Airport | Margate, Kwa-Zulu Natal | MGH/FAMG | 31,200 | |

## Historical
### 2020–2022 COVID-19

During the lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic, most commercial flights were halted 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 |