Airport Guide

History of Johannesburg Tambo International Airport

A relative newcomer to the aviation world, the main airport serving South Africa's largest city has its origins in the 'Palmietfontein International Airport', founded in 1945. Notably, that year saw the airport welcome the world's first commercial jet aircraft, a de Havilland Comet from London.

After again coming to world prominence as a test airport for the revolutionary Concorde aircraft in the early 1970s, the 1980s saw the airport fall in the world rankings as numerous airlines cancelled international flight routes as part of a general protest against apartheid.

However, a shift in politics in the 1990s saw the airport's fortunes turn around, and in 1996 it overtook Cairo as the busiest airport in the whole of the African continent.

In 2005, Johannesburg International was renamed after anti-apartheid campaigner and politician Oliver Tambo, with passenger numbers expected to exceed 20 million within the next couple of years.

Travelling to Johannesburg Tambo International Airport

At present, the most effective way of traveling between Tambo International and the centre of Johannesburg is by road, either by private car or by one of the many taxis or transit shuttles laid on by the city's hotels and resorts.

However, plans are in place to improve public transportation links, with work currently underway to build a Gautrain rail link to Sandton, one of the city's major business and tourist destinations.

Airlines flying from Johannesburg Tambo International Airport

By far the biggest operator flying out of Johannesburg is the South African national carrier, South African Airways. In addition to numerous domestic services, such as those to Cape Town, Durban and Lusaka, the airline also operates numerous long-haul services, including flights to Accra, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York JFK, Perth and Zanzibar.

Cheaper internal flights are offered by several low-cost airlines, such as Mango and South African Express, while these compete for space on the tarmac with dozens of international airlines.

These include the likes of Iberia, which flies to Madrid, Cathay Pacific, Kenya Airways, KLM Dutch, Singapore Airlines and Swiss International.

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