Upington Airport

SA Blog’s handy guide to Upington Airport.

Vital information:

• Airport code: UTN
• Street Map: Click here (then zoom out)
• Floor plan: None available, nor needed
• General info: +27 (0) 54 337 7900
• Flight info via telephone: +27 (0) 86 727 7888
• Flight info via SMS/text: Send flight number to 35007.
• Hired/Rented cars: By arrivals
• Wifi? No
• Altnernate name: Lughawe (Afrikaans for “Airport”).
• Free carts? Yes
• Porters? Available (wearing dark green pants and blue shirts).
• Porter tip? R5 per bag.
• Curbside drop-off/pick-up allowed? Yes
• Parking? R4/hour (open), R6/hour (shaded). Long-term parking available.
• Disabled-friendly? Yes

Upington Airport is Your Correspondent’s favourite in South Africa, for three reasons: first, it has Africa’s longest runway, at 5kms (NASA’s space shuttle could land on it); second, it hosts only a single carrier, South African Airlink (see below), which flies mosquito-sized planes; and third, the landings of said mosquito-size planes on said gigantic runway are social occasions in Upington, drawing crowds. If ever you seek the simple life, consider a move to Upington’s peace and quiet.

The city, located in what is known as the “Green Kalahari” (because of the Gariep/Orange River’s irrigation of the area), is close to two major nature reserves, both highly recommended: Augrabies Falls and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (a.k.a. the Kalahari Desert).

Uppington Airport is as simple as it gets: you walk in a straight line from the plane to the baggage collection area to the parking lot outside.

UTN Domestic Airlines:

• South African Airlink: +27 (0) 54 332 2161