After several years of rebuilding momentum, South Africa’s airports are once again buzzing with travellers. Fresh figures show passenger arrivals across the country’s main airports rose by 7.9% in January, a sign that both domestic and international travel are continuing their steady comeback.
Source: www.itcsa.es
According to The South African, the latest numbers come from Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), which tracks passenger movement across the country’s major aviation hubs. While the growth is modest, it reflects consistent recovery across multiple travel categories and hints at strong demand heading into 2026.
For travellers, airlines and tourism operators, it is another encouraging signal that South Africa’s skies are busy again.
Domestic travel leads the surge
Domestic flights remain the backbone of South Africa’s air travel market. According to ACSA’s data, two-thirds of all airport arrivals in January were domestic passengers.
This category saw an 8.1% year-on-year increase, slightly higher than the growth recorded in December.
The numbers highlight something many South Africans already feel on the ground. Whether it is business trips between Johannesburg and Cape Town, family visits across provinces, or holidaymakers chasing coastal escapes, domestic flights continue to dominate the country’s aviation activity.
Because domestic passengers make up such a large share of arrivals, changes in this segment heavily influence the overall airport numbers.
International travellers continue returning
International travel also contributed significantly to the increase in arrivals.
Passengers arriving from abroad accounted for 30.9% of the total in January, making it the second largest category after domestic travel.
Growth in this segment reached 7.3% year-on-year, slightly slower than the 8.6% growth recorded in December. Even so, international travel continues to strengthen as airlines expand routes and global travel demand stabilises.
Together, domestic and international passengers make up 97.5% of all arrivals at South African airports, showing how central these two segments are to the aviation industry.
Regional travel remains strong
Regional travel within Africa also posted solid growth.
Arrivals from neighbouring and regional markets increased 9.9% compared with the previous year. Although this was slower than the sharp 16.5% rise recorded in December, it still reflects healthy movement between South Africa and other African destinations.
Regional travel often includes business links, tourism exchanges and cross-border trade, all of which remain important drivers of aviation traffic across the continent.
Unscheduled flights show modest recovery
Another category tracked by ACSA is unscheduled arrivals, which include charter flights and other non-regular aviation activity.
This segment grew 4.7% year on year in January, reversing a sharp decline seen in December. While it represents a much smaller share of overall arrivals, the increase suggests a gradual improvement in niche travel sectors such as charter tourism and specialised flights.
How the numbers compare with last year
Across the whole of 2025, passenger arrivals at ACSA airports grew 7.8%, reaching 20.159 million travellers.
Despite this progress, total arrivals are still below pre-pandemic levels, sitting at about 94.1% of the numbers recorded in 2019.
Breaking it down further reveals where the recovery stands:
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Domestic arrivals: up 7.7% in 2025, reaching 93.2% of 2019 levels
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International arrivals: up 8.1%, reaching 96% of 2019 levels
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Regional arrivals: up 8.9%, reaching 96.7% of 2019 levels
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Unscheduled arrivals: down 3.5% for the year, reaching 93.4% of 2019 levels
The figures suggest that while travel demand has largely bounced back, there is still room for growth before the aviation sector fully returns to its pre-pandemic peak.
Airlines and tourism look toward a stronger 2026
Industry watchers are optimistic that the remaining gap could close soon.
One factor likely to influence this is the ongoing effort by Cape Town International Airport to attract additional airlines and routes, which could boost international arrivals further in the coming year.
For travellers, this could mean more direct flights, better connectivity and potentially more competitive airfares as airlines expand operations in South Africa.
Meanwhile, the steady rise in domestic travel continues to highlight how important internal tourism and business travel are for the country’s aviation sector.
A positive sign for South Africa’s travel industry
From packed departure halls to busier check-in queues, the numbers reflect something travellers have already noticed. South Africa’s airports are alive with movement again.
While the industry has not yet fully returned to its 2019 peak, the steady growth seen in early 2026 shows that demand for travel across the country and beyond remains strong.
For a sector that took a heavy hit only a few years ago, that upward trend is welcome news.
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