Although Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban continue to be the most popular air travel routes, the three fastest growing domestic airports in 2018 were in fact George (with a 70% growth year on year), followed by Kimberley (36%) and Lanseria (31%).
The phenomenal growth George experienced in 2018 as a business destination might come as a surprise, but this Garden Route town was in fact hailed as one of the Western Cape cities offering the highest quality of life, beating Cape Town.
George has become increasingly popular as a business and investment destination thanks to its ideal location and low crime rate.
The Northern Cape and Kimberley remain an important business destination thanks to its mining and agriculture sectors. The area is also growing as a result of its renewable energy initiatives with a great number of solar plants developed over the past few years.
Kimberley Airport and Upington International Airport were voted in 2019 as the best airports in Africa by size and region, in the under 2 million passengers category.
Lanseria is steadily gaining ground as the third fastest growing domestic airport. This growth is not likely to slow down as the airport has announced it is aiming to double its passenger numbers to more than 4 million within the next six years.