For those who have travelled by plane, the word ‘airport’ conjures up images of large, noisy halls with long queues on several floors, busy desks and passengers clutching papers running hastily from desk to desk with luggage and kids in tow.
Not Skukuza Airport in the Kruger National Park. Declared the ‘prettiest airport in the world’ by Forbes in 2018, this small hub is something else. Tranquil and outdoor-themed, it’s a great prelude to what visitors can expect in the bush.
Credit: Jurg Reynders
Credit: Jurg Reynders
The airport is close to the Skukuza main camp and the adjoining Sabi Sand conservancy and according to their website, the operational plan for the airport ‘has been carefully constructed so as to be sensitive to the environmental concerns associated with flight operations in protected wildlife surrounds.’
The airport was build in 1958 and began operating in 1959, however commercial flights were halted between 2001 and only resumed in 2014 when a newly revamped airport greeted passengers arriving via commercial flights again.
Airlink is currently the only airline operating commercial flights to Skukuza, with one flight to and from Cape Town per day and two daily flights to and from Johannesburg. Chartered flights are also operated regularly.
The operating hours of the airport are strictly controlled between 9am and 3pm and only 20 flights are permitted daily (10 arriving and 10 departing). The airport is geared to process up to 400 passengers per day.
Credit: Kwong Yee Cheng
The airport operates under the control of the Skukuza Airport Management Company, in conjunction with SANParks, under a 10-year Public-Private Partnership agreement. The partners in the management company are Airlink and Lion Sands.
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