O.R. Tambo: Africa’s only airport with flights to all inhabited continents

Africa has seen significant growth in traffic over the last few years, with enhanced connectivity from different parts of the world and within the continent itself. However, Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) remains the only African airport with regularly scheduled nonstop passenger flights to and from the world’s six inhabited continents, reports Simple Flying.

According to the Simple Flying report, it is also the busiest airport in sub-Saharan Africa and remains the leading regional hub, offering nonstop flights to and from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania/Australia. According to National Geographic, these are the six continents with permanent human populations. Interestingly, South Africa is connected to all seven continents, with special charter flights between Antarctica and Cape Town.

Flights to other African airports

OR Tambo is one of three primary airports serving South Africa. It is home to all key players in the South African aviation industry and welcomes over 30 international airlines. The busiest routes from Johannesburg are domestic, with nearly 300 weekly flights to Cape Town and nearly 200 to Durban.

Johannesburg also serves as an important hub for connecting passengers from different parts of the world to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia, and other Southern African countries. As such, the airport’s top five busiest international routes by scheduled flights are all to African airports.

As of January 2024, Johannesburg-Harare is the busiest international route, with up to 77 weekly flights. The route is served by national carriers South African Airways and Air Zimbabwe, as well as Airlink, FlySafair, Cemair, and Fastjet. Gaborone, Maputo, Lusaka, Windhoek, Manzini, Nairobi, and Victoria Falls are also well-connected to Johannesburg, with over 30 weekly flights each.

Given its location in the southernmost country of Africa, Johannesburg is also home to some of Africa’s longest nonstop flights. Some of the furthest destinations with nonstop flights to and from Johannesburg are as follows:

Flights to Asia and the Middle East

Asia is the world’s largest continent, stretching from the western Pacific Ocean to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and including countries in the Middle East. Johannesburg has nonstop flights to the following countries: China; Hong Kong; Qatar; Singapore; United Arab Emirates.

Dubai-Johannesburg is the busiest route from Asia, with up to 21 weekly flights each way. Emirates currently operates double daily Airbus A380 flights and a daily Boeing 777 flight to Johannesburg. The airline will introduce a fourth daily flight in March 2025, increasing the total number of frequencies to South Africa to 49 weekly flights. The second-busiest route is from Doha, with up to 18 weekly flights.

The longest nonstop route is from Shenzhen, measuring up to 5,766 NM (10,678 km). The flight originates in Beijing and is operated by Air China with the Airbus A350-900. Hong Kong-Johannesburg is the second longest at 5,762 NM (10,671 km) and is operated by Cathay Pacific with the A350-900. The third-longest is another A350-900 route from Singapore offered by Singapore Airlines.

Nonstop flights to Europe

Johannesburg has historically been connected to key European cities, including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Istanbul, Paris, and London. The following airlines currently offer nonstop flights from Europe to Johannesburg: Air France; British Airways; Condor; KLM; Lufthansa; SWISS; Tap Air Portugal; Turkish Airlines; Virgin Atlantic.

As of January 2025, London Heathrow-OR Tambo is the busiest route, with up to 19 weekly flights each way. British Airways offers daily Airbus A380 flights and five weekly Boeing 777-300ER flights, while Virgin Atlantic offers daily flights with the 787-9 Dreamliner.

The second-busiest route is from Frankfurt, with Lufthansa’s daily B747-8 flights and Condor’s two-weekly A330neo flights. Lufthansa has seen strong passenger demand to Southern Africa and other parts of the continent, leveraging its multi-hub strategy for expansion. Lufthansa relaunched flights from Munich to Johannesburg in September 2024, operating three times a week with the A350-900.

The longest route between Europe and Johannesburg is from London Heathrow at 4,884 NM (9,045 km), followed by Amsterdam at 4,852 NM (8,986 km), and then Paris CDG at 4,853 NM (8,986 km). European carriers also offer year-round and seasonal flights to Cape Town International Airport.

Flights to North and South America

Two North American routes

There are only two nonstop routes between Johannesburg and North America. Delta Air Lines offers daily A350-900 flights from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL), while United Airlines offers daily 787-9 flights from Newark Liberty (EWR). United and Delta are the only US carriers with direct flights to Africa, and they also serve Cape Town as part of their wider South African network.

At 7,333 NM (13,581 km), Atlanta-Johannesburg is the longest nonstop flight to Africa. Newark-Johannesburg is slightly shorter at 6,943 NM (12,858 km), making it the third-longest flight to Africa. In fact, the continent’s top five longest nonstop routes are between the US and South Africa , connecting Johannesburg and Cape Town to Atlanta, Newark, and Washington Dulles.

One South American route

There are currently only two routes between South Africa and South America: Sao Paulo-Cape Town and Sao Paulo-Johannesburg. The latter is offered by LATAM Airlines four times a week with the 787-9 and South African Airways twice a week with the A330-300. The route measures 4,024 NM (7,452 km), making it one of Johannesburg’s longest flights.

South African Airways relaunched flights to Brazil in October 2023. It was the first intercontinental destination to be reinstated to the airline’s network post-business rescue. LATAM Airlines resumed its flights to Johannesburg a month before after a nearly four-year hiatus following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Two routes to Australia

Australia is the world’s smallest continent. The region includes the continent of Australia and is also referred to as Oceania, which includes the thousands of islands in the Central Pacific and South Pacific. According to Cirium, the aviation analytics company, Johannesburg and Mauritius are the only two African airports with nonstop flights from Australia/Oceania.

Johannesburg has two direct routes from Perth and Sydney. Australian flag carrier Qantas operates six weekly flights from Sydney with the Airbus A380, upgraded from the Boeing 787 in September 2024 . South African Airways had up to five weekly flights scheduled in January from Perth with its aging Airbus A340-300.

Launched in April 2024, Perth is the airline’s second intercontinental destination. Johannesburg-Perth is 4,495 NM (8,325 km) long, while Johannesburg-Sydney is 5,963 NM (11,043 km) long. In addition to adding capacity on its route in September, Qantas entered a codeshare agreement with Johannesburg-based Airlink.

Flights to a seventh continent

As discussed, Johannesburg is the only African airport with nonstop scheduled passenger flights to all six inhabited continents. Cape Town comes close with flights to five inhabited continents. However, regarding the country’s broader connectivity, South Africa has direct flights to all seven continents, including Antarctica.

While there are no scheduled flights to the icy continent, several companies offer charter flights for researchers and as part of tour packages. In November 2023, Norse Atlantic landed the first Boeing 787 on the ice runway at Troll Airfield. Carrying scientists and research equipment from Oslo, the aircraft made a stop in Cape Town before proceeding on a five-hour flight to Antarctica.

Overall, South Africa’s airports are crucial for intercontinental connectivity to and from Africa. While other airports in the region are making efforts to enhance their air access and increase competition, Johannesburg remains the leading hub in the region.