{"id":849763,"date":"2026-02-23T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=849763"},"modified":"2026-02-24T14:41:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:41:34","slug":"the-tiny-airport-in-south-africa-named-the-most-beautiful-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/849763\/the-tiny-airport-in-south-africa-named-the-most-beautiful-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The tiny airport in South Africa named the most beautiful in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Skukuza Airport is a small airport within the Kruger National Park, and has been named as the most beautiful airport in the world by Forbes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skukuza Airport lies within the Kruger National Park, and Airlink offers direct flights from Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While charter planes also operate from the airport, Airlink is the only airline that flies into the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airport is in close proximity to the Skukuza main camp, which is the administrative headquarters of the Kruger National Park, and the adjoining Sabi Sand conservancy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airport’s history dates back to 1959. It was reopened just over a decade ago to increase transportation to the Kruger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airport is a public-private partnership between SANParks and Skukuza Airport Management Company, which Lion Sands and Airlink own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANParks said that the reopening of the airport to long-haul clients aimed to lessen the two-hour drive from Nelspruit to the Kruger National Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airport’s operating hours are 09:00 to 15:00, with a total of 20 flights per day (10 arriving and 10 departing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After its renovation, Forbes<\/a> named the airport the prettiest airport in the world, without a doubt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forbes said the airport is ditching the classic airport look and embracing a luxury spa vibe instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Skukuza has been designed from the ground up to feel warm and inviting, the ideal send-off after a few days or weeks of excitement with the animals in Kruger,” said Forbes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANParks recently opened Request for Proposals for the management and operations of the airport, seeking an operator to continue the public-private partnership for another 10 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BusinessTech’s experience <\/h2>\n\n\n
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Arriving at the airport is an incredibly unique experience, with the typical grey, lifeless airport finishes replaced by a design that makes you feel you are immediately in the Kruger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The small airport has a thatch roof, wooden signs, a life-sized rhino replica and views of the surrounding environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who need a car upon arrival, Avis and Europcar also operate services from the airport. There is also a gift shop and a cafe for those in the departure lounge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one lands directly in the Kruger, there is a stand to pay a conservation fee that one would typically pay when driving into the national park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Kruger itself suffered significant rainfall and flooding in recent weeks, which damaged infrastructure, the airport and its runway were in good condition when we visited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flight from Johannesburg to the Kruger is incredibly quick, as it spends only about 40 minutes in the air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airlink uses the Embraer E190 for flights to Skukuza, which carry just under 100 passengers each, making the flight experience similar to those between major commercial hubs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the short flight, Airlink does offer food and refreshments for those on board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While waiting to board, we noticed that most passengers were international tourists visiting South Africa to see its wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Skukuza Airport Images<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Update: The article has been updated to correct the shareholding of the airport.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Skukuza Airport in Kruger National Park has been named the most beautiful airport in the world by Forbes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":850847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[15416,13301,12164,24670],"class_list":["post-849763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-airlink","tag-legacy-group","tag-sanparks","tag-skukuza-aiport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849763"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851994,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849763\/revisions\/851994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}