Cape Winelands Airfield in South Africa has been a place for pilots to learn to fly for many years. It will soon be the place where international passengers will board. The airport, located about 26 miles from Cape Town International Airport, is scheduled to begin renovations in April 2027 and become a full-fledged commercial hub, with developers saying it will not compete with but will be completed by a larger neighboring airport.
RSA Aero Limited, the company behind the project, wants Cape Winelands to serve as Cape Town’s second airport, launching new services across the continent while easing pressure on Cape Town’s existing international hub. “We serve different routes, different time zones,” Nicholas Ferguson, the company’s managing director, told CNN.
He added that Cape Winelands already has five contracts with major airlines and plans to add more. Mr Ferguson sees potential in offering direct flights within Africa, a market that remains poorly connected.
“We have a geographical advantage of being at the tip of the continent and we need to take advantage of that,” he said. “We want to grow as much as possible, but realistically, direct flights from within Africa to Nigeria is our starting point.”
Cape Winelands Airport’s director of planning and strategy, Adele Klingenberg, also framed the airport’s route strategy as a bet on the continent. “Africa is getting a lot of attention,” she says. “We want to make sure that intra-African travel becomes a reality.”
According to a recent study by the International Air Transport Association, Africa is home to almost one-fifth of the world’s population but accounts for only 2% of global air traffic. African aviation expert Dr Aiden Sumdel said the gap reflected a deeper problem.
“Intra-African air travel is being constrained not by a lack of airports or demand potential, but by complex structural and political constraints,” he said. “Flights within Africa are currently around 45% more expensive than flights within Europe. High ticket prices are driven by heavy government taxes, airport facility fees and operating fees. Jet fuel typically accounts for 40% of operating costs, twice the global average.”
Visa is also an additional cost. African passport holders require a visa before departure for approximately 50% of intracontinental travel, but only approximately 28% of trips are eligible for visa-free access, further hindering mobility.
“Added to this, Africa’s airspace is fragmented by national regulations and protectionist policies that favor national airlines and restrict access rights, slowing implementation of open skies commitments,” added Samdel.
The result is a patchwork of poor connections, he said. Only about 19% of routes within Africa are direct, meaning passengers zigzag through regional hubs or airports outside Africa. But Mr Samdell argues that South Africa, as the continent’s “most developed air transport market”, has led the way in liberalizing the skies and creating a gateway to the continent.
“A new airport like Cape Winelands could send a strong message as a viable project to complement the existing one,” he said.
“Cape Winelands Airport has an opportunity to reduce congestion at nearby airports, export more local agricultural products such as wine, fruit and time-sensitive products, and create jobs in the region,” he added.
Aiming to begin passenger flights in 2029, the airport promises new jobs, new businesses and even new neighborhoods. Six appeals were filed against the construction, citing noise, environmental pollution and socio-economic impacts, but all were dismissed. Klingenberg described a development that could benefit the entire region.
“There will be a mix of restaurants, retail and a hotel, as well as a general aviation hangar. Surrounding parcels of land will also include warehousing and storage facilities,” she said.
“This is kind of a new neighborhood, a new neighborhood for the greater Durbanville and Cape Town region,” she added. “It is also a contribution to the wider region. It will create jobs and have a positive impact on the region.”
That vision extends to the look and feel of the place. Wessel van Dijk, director of Boogertman & Partners Architects, said the goal was to anchor the building in its surroundings. “Landscaping is very important to see a lot of the vineyards,” he said. “When you arrive, you have a very formal access. It all comes from the cultural heritage of the Cape Winelands region. And we brought those elements into the school district plan, the urban design, and ultimately into the terminal building.”
Klingenberg said the goal is to increase annual passenger numbers from 2 million when it opens to 8 million by 2050.
