George Airport

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.

George Airport George Lughawe
IATA: GRJ ICAO: FAGG
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Airports Company South Africa
Serves	George, Garden Route District Municipality, South Africa
Hub for	FlySafair CemAir Airlink
Elevation AMSL	639 ft / 195 m
Coordinates	34°00′24″S 22°22′51″E
Website	https://www.airports.co.za/airports/george-airport
Map
GRJ Location in the Western Cape Show map of Western Cape GRJ GRJ (South Africa) Show map of South Africa GRJ GRJ (Africa) Show map of Africa
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 11/29 2,000 6,561 Asphalt 02/20 (CLOSED) 1,220 4,002 Asphalt
Statistics (FY23 / 24)
Passenger traffic 803,184
Source: Airports Company South Africa[1][2]

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]

In 2013, the airport served 560,432 passengers, substantially more than the 154,000 in 2003. From 2014 onwards, continued increase in passenger numbers were witnessed, with 2017 seeing a record number of passengers (785,486), closing in on the design capacity of the airport which should necessitate further terminal expansion in the near future.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Airlink	Cape Town, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo
CemAir	Bloemfontein,[4] Cape Town,[5] Durban,[6] Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo[7]
FlySafair	Cape Town, Johannesburg–Lanseria,[8] Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo[9]

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
BidAir Cargo	Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo[10]

Traffic statistics

Civil annual passenger traffic. See Wikidata query.

Annual Passenger traffic^[11][12]

Year	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	544,306	3.7%
2013	572,130	5.1%
2014	615,688	7.6%
2015	718,881	16.8%
2016	738,641	2.7%
2017	801,480	8.5%
2018	830,118	4.3%
2019	830,118	0.7%
2020	267,816	67.7%
2021	609,069	127.4%
2022	757,567	24.4%
2023	803,184	6.0%

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.^[13][14] 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.^[15]

See also

• List of airports in South Africa
• List of South African airports by passenger movements