Kruger Mpumalanga Airport (Nelspruit)

SA Blog’s handy guide to the Kruger Mpumalanga Airport.

Vital information:

• Airport code: MQP
• Street Map: Click here (and then zoom out) | Or try clicking here (a map which occasionally doesn’t load)
• Floor plan: None needed
• General info: +27 (0) 13 753 7500 or +27 (0) 83 449 1743
• Website: Click here
• Flight info: Contact airline (see below)
• Hired/Rented cars: In airport shopping gallery, outside of arrivals.
• Wifi? No
• Former & alt. names: None
• Free carts? Yes
• Porters? Available
• Porter tip? R5 per bag.
• Curbside drop-off/pick-up allowed? Yes
• Parking? About R3/hour. (Long term parking available, but not often arranged.)
• Disabled-friendly? Yes

Kruger Mpumalanga is a simple, privately-run airport which services tourists who head to South Africa’s north-east specifically for the Kruger National Park experience. Its name is somewhat misleading, in that visitors are actually flying into Nelspruit (the capital of Mpumalanga Province), not the Kruger Park itself, and have to make an additional portage of 2-3 hours by car to get to the Park gates.

(Kruger Mpumalanga replaces the old Kruger Park airport, to the lament of those who knew the latter: the old airport was in the Park; one would fly in over herds of animals at low height, which was spectacular.)

The airport’s website, though not complete, is the best of any in South Africa (most other airports are run by ACSA, which has dreadful websites): beyond the basic information one expects, it also lists shuttle services, charter flight hire, and much other useful information besides.

MQP Domestic Airlines:

• Nationwide Airlines: +27 (0) 861 737 737 or +27 (0) 13 750 2640
• Pelican Air: + 27 (0) 11 973 3649
• South African Airlink: +27 (0) 13 750 2531/2/3/4