George Airport

George Airport
George Lughawe
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorAirports Company South Africa
ServesGeorge, Garden Route District Municipality, South Africa
Opened1977
Hub for
Elevation AMSL639 ft / 195 m
Coordinates34°00′24″S 22°22′51″E / 34.00667°S 22.38083°E / -34.00667; 22.38083
Websitehttps://www.airports.co.za/airports/george-airport
Map
GRJ
Location in the Western Cape
GRJ
GRJ (South Africa)
GRJ
GRJ (Africa)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 2,000 6,561 Asphalt
02/20 (CLOSED) 1,220 4,002 Asphalt
Statistics (FY2024/25)
Passenger traffic833,455
Aircraft movements31,265
Source: Airports Company South Africa[1][2]

George Airport (IATA: GRJ, ICAO: FAGG) (Afrikaans: George Lughawe) is an airport located in George, Western Cape, South Africa. It was formerly known as P. W. Botha Airport, named after the state president who lived in this part of the country.

This airport was originally built in 1977 as an exact replica of the Keetmanshoop Airport in Namibia, but since its expansion and renovation, it now looks completely different. George Airport has won the award for Africa's best airport in the category under two million passengers per year six times; the last time was in 2017. The award is given by Airports Council International (ACI).[3]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Airlink Cape Town, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo
CemAir Bloemfontein,[4] Cape Town,[5] Durban,[6] Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo[7] Hoedspruit (Launches 16 May 2026)[8]
FlySafair Cape Town, Johannesburg–Lanseria,[9] Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo[10]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
BidAir Cargo Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo[11]

Traffic statistics

Annual Aircraft & Passenger Movements[12][13][14][15]
Year Aircraft % Change Passengers % Change
2006 - - 589,674 4.2%
2007 - - 652,031 10.6%
2008 - - 630,385 3.3%
2009 - - 548,498 13.0%
2010 - - 526,823 4.0%
2011 - - 565,291 7.3%
2012 39,664 - 544,306 3.7%
2013 43,758 10.3% 572,130 5.1%
2014 55,432 26.7% 615,688 7.6%
2015 57,924 4.5% 718,881 16.8%
2016 51,405 11.2% 738,641 2.7%
2017 32,961 35.9% 801,480 8.5%
2018 43,016 30.5% 835,906 4.3%
2019 36,202 15.8% 830,118 0.7%
2020 18,486 49.0% 267,816 67.7%
2021 20,276 9.7% 609,069 127.4%
2022 28,695 41.5% 757,567 24.4%
2023 29,265 2.0% 803,184 6.0%
2024 31,265 6.8% 833,455 3.8%

Accidents and incidents

  • 7 December 2009 – An Embraer ERJ 135 (registration:ZS-SJW) operated by Airlink on a scheduled flight (SA-8625) overran the runway in wet conditions and ended up on a public road. There were no fatalities, but the plane suffered substantial damage.[16][17] The accident was caused by an incorrect sealant used on the runway, and the airline was cleared of all blame. Airlink's insurers took legal action against the state-owned Airports Company of South Africa.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "ACSA – Durban Passenger Statistics". Airports Company South Africa. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  2. ^ "ACSA – George Aircraft Statistics". Airports Company South Africa. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  3. ^ "George Airport wins award". George Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  4. ^ https://www.facebook.com/flycemair/photos/a.1416817981867233/2776145309267820/
  5. ^ "Closure of Plettenberg Bay Airport to commercial flights sparks outcry".
  6. ^ "Cemair 2Q23 Network Additions". AeroRoutes. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  7. ^ "CemAir / Scheduled flights in South Africa".
  8. ^ "CemAir launches direct route between George and Hoedspruit". CemAir. CemAir (Pty) Ltd. 6 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  9. ^ "Safair Adds Lanseria – George From March 2025". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  10. ^ "FlySafair Flight Schedule".
  11. ^ bidaircargo.com – Network Archived 1 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 January 2021
  12. ^ "ACSA Passenger Statistics". Airports Company South Africa. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  13. ^ https://www.airports.co.za/StatisticsLib/GRJ%20PASSENGER.pdf
  14. ^ "GRJ Passenger Stats 2025" (PDF).
  15. ^ "Aircraft Movements 2025" (PDF).
  16. ^ Hradecky, Simon (7 December 2009). "Accident: SA Airlink E135 at George on Dec 7th 2009, overran runway". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  17. ^ "Airlink plane overshoots George runway". Mail & Guardian. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  18. ^ Business Day – Airlink in clear, Acsa blamed for George near-disaster

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