PLZFAPE
Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport
Photo: KeMang??, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Gqeberha’s airport is four kilometres from the city — the shortest airport-to-city run in South Africa — and it carried 1,586,070 passengers in 2025/26, fourth in the country. It is also the place that makes the clearest single point about this network: a city of more than a million people recorded 70 international passengers all year.
From the operator’s monthly filings · FY2025/26
- 1,586,070passengers, FY2025/26
- +4.4%against the previous year
- 0%of them international
- Decemberbusiest month
- Junequietest month
- 4 kmto Gqeberha
Seventy international passengers, and what that tells you
That figure is not a typo and it is not a rounding artefact. Across the whole 2025/26 financial year, scheduled international traffic at Gqeberha amounted to 70 passengers. Everything else — more than a million and a half journeys — was domestic.
The practical consequence is simple. If you are flying to the Eastern Cape from abroad, you are connecting through Johannesburg or Cape Town, and you should budget for that connection rather than assume a through flight exists. At O. R. Tambo an international-to-domestic change means clearing immigration, collecting your bag and checking it in again: allow two hours.
The airport is still called “International” in its official name. That reflects its customs facilities, not a current route network — a distinction worth knowing about several South African airports.
Four kilometres from the city
The terminal sits on the edge of Gqeberha itself, not out in the countryside. A taxi into the centre or to the beachfront at Summerstrand is a short run, and the airport is the natural arrival point for Addo Elephant National Park, the Sunshine Coast and the eastern end of the Garden Route.
There is no train. Metered taxis from the official rank, e-hailing, hotel shuttles and hire cars are the options, and the hire-car desks sit together in the arrivals hall.
A single terminal, and how early to arrive
One building, domestic in practice, and small enough that ninety minutes before a flight is ample. The check-in cut-off is the usual 45 minutes. Parking follows the same three tiers as the larger airports, with much shorter distances: the long-stay lot is a walk rather than a shuttle.
Food and lounge provision is modest — expect a café or two and a single lounge rather than the choice at Cape Town. Wi-Fi is free with a data cap.
Parking, and the drop-off that is actually close
Because the terminal is four kilometres from the city rather than twenty, the economics of parking here are different. A short-stay bay for a two-hour collection costs less than the round trip to fetch someone, and the long-stay lot is a walk from the doors rather than a shuttle ride.
The three tiers are the same as everywhere on the ACSA network: free time-limited kerbside drop-off, covered short stay, open long stay. Enforcement at the kerb is lighter than at O. R. Tambo or Cape Town, but the time limit is still a time limit.
What the airport actually serves
Gqeberha is the arrival point for three things worth flying for. Addo Elephant National Park is about an hour north and is malaria-free, which makes it the practical Big Five option for families who do not want prophylaxis. The Sunshine Coast runs east towards Kenton-on-Sea and Port Alfred. And the eastern end of the Garden Route — Tsitsikamma, Storms River — is a two-hour drive west.
A hire car is close to essential for all three. The desks are in the arrivals hall, and the N2 west towards Tsitsikamma is one of the easier long drives in the country.
Month by month
Five years of traffic
South African financial years, 1 April to 31 March. Compiled from the operator’s own monthly passenger-movement statements. How we check these figures.
Common questions
What is the code for Gqeberha airport?
PLZ is the IATA code, which survives from the city’s former name of Port Elizabeth, and FAPE is the ICAO code. The airport was renamed Chief Dawid Stuurman International in 2021.
Does Gqeberha airport have international flights?
Effectively no. It recorded 70 international passengers across the whole 2025/26 financial year. Arrivals from abroad connect through Johannesburg or Cape Town.
How far is the airport from Gqeberha?
About four kilometres — the shortest airport-to-city distance of any South African airport with scheduled flights.
Is Addo Elephant Park malaria-free?
Yes. Addo is a malaria-free Big Five reserve about an hour north of the airport, which is why it is the usual choice for families travelling with young children.