Cape Town International Airport

CPT FACT  Cape Town, South Africa

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CPT at a glance

  • What it is: Cape Town International Airport is a regional airport serving Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Codes: CPT on your ticket, FACT on the radar.
  • How busy: the reference profile lists about 10.7 million annual passengers across 2 runways.
  • Right now: 3 aircraft are within 55 km, shown live on the map above.
  • Local time zone: Africa/Johannesburg (UTC+2), so every time shown for CPT is local rather than UTC.

Aircraft observed near CPT

3 aircraft are within 55 km of CPT right now. This is live ADS-B traffic, not a published timetable: aircraft are classified by what they are physically doing - Climbing out, on approach, or holding at cruise overhead. For gate numbers and scheduled times, check with CPT directly or your airline.

Departing now

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
KLM104 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines route not published on stand or taxiing — 3 kts

Arriving now

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
KQA784 Kenya Airways route not published on approach 1,775 ft 148 kts

Overhead and in the area

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
SAA375 — route not published in the area -150 ft 112 kts
10.7M
Annual passengers (reference)
2
Runways
1
Terminals
151 ft
Field elevation

About CPT

South Africa's second airport and the leading tourism gateway to the Western Cape, framed by views of Table Mountain. It has repeatedly been named the best airport in Africa. Seasonal long-haul routes surge each southern summer.

Cape Town International Airport opened in 1954 as D.F. Malan Airport, named for the South African prime minister of the era, replacing the older Wingfield aerodrome. Its early international schedule was limited, with most overseas traffic routed through Johannesburg, but the airport steadily grew into South Africa's second gateway. With the end of apartheid, the airport was renamed Cape Town International in 1994 as politically charged names were retired across the country.

The airport's biggest transformation came ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, when a major redevelopment delivered the unified Central Terminal Building in 2009, wrapping the old domestic and international facilities into one modern complex with a dramatic curved roof. Traffic has grown strongly since, driven by Cape Town's tourism boom, and the airport has repeatedly been voted among the best in Africa.

Direct long-haul links have multiplied, with routes to Europe, the Gulf, and the United States reducing the old dependence on Johannesburg connections. Handling around 10 million passengers a year, Cape Town International is Africa's third-busiest airport. Plans for a realigned, longer runway aim to support more nonstop widebody flights to distant markets.

How CPT operates today

Cape Town International operates one primary runway, 01/19, with a shorter crosswind strip, set on the Cape Flats about 20 kilometers from the city center with Table Mountain dominating the western horizon. The Central Terminal Building unifies domestic and international operations, with the domestic side among the busiest in Africa thanks to the Johannesburg air bridge flown by FlySafair, Airlink, LIFT, and others.

Winter storms off the Atlantic can bring challenging winds. Summer brings peak tourism season and the year's densest long-haul schedule of European and Gulf widebodies. Cargo operations move fruit, flowers, and wine from the Western Cape's export economy.

Top routes from CPT

DestinationMain airlinesWhy it matters
Johannesburg (JNB) FlySafair, Airlink, LIFT South Africa's dominant domestic trunk and one of the world's busiest such routes.
Durban (DUR) FlySafair, Airlink The second leg of South Africa's domestic golden triangle.
London (LHR) British Airways, Virgin Atlantic The historic long-haul link serving tourism and the UK-South Africa diaspora.
Dubai (DXB) Emirates The main one-stop gateway connecting Cape Town to Asia and beyond.
Amsterdam (AMS) KLM A long-standing European route that KLM has served for decades, seasonally with double-daily flights.

Facts about CPT

  • The Johannesburg-Cape Town air corridor is one of the busiest domestic airline routes in the world outside the US and Asia.
  • The airport was called D.F. Malan Airport until 1994, when apartheid-era names were retired.
  • Approaches and departures offer passengers direct views of Table Mountain, one of aviation's most scenic backdrops.
  • Cape Town International has repeatedly been voted Africa's leading airport in international travel awards.

Plane spotting at CPT

Perimeter spots along Borcherds Quarry Road and mounds near the runway 01 threshold give clear shots of arrivals with Table Mountain in the background, a combination that makes Cape Town a bucket-list stop for spotters. New to spotting? Start with our aircraft identification guide and the world's best spotting airports.

IATA / ICAO
CPT / FACT
Location
Cape Town, South Africa -33.971, 18.602
Time zone
Africa/Johannesburg
Opened
1954
Hub for
FlySafair, Airlink
Website
www.airports.co.za

Nearby and related airports

Geographically close airports and useful alternatives in South Africa.

JNB O. R. Tambo International Airport Johannesburg, South Africa LAD Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport Luanda, Angola NBO Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Nairobi, Kenya

More airports and guides connected to CPT

How a field like this runs day to day is covered in how airports work. Nearby, Johannesburg (JNB) serves the same country. The codes CPT and FACT are explained in airport codes decoded.

Data sources and review

Reviewed 2026-07-29 by Flight-Tracker.net Editorial Team

Passenger, runway, terminal and hub figures are maintained as a reviewed reference snapshot, not a live operational record. Check the airport directly before travelling.

Read our airport data sourcing and review process, or inspect the machine-readable reference dataset.

Frequently asked questions about CPT

What is the airport code for Cape Town International Airport?

Cape Town International Airport uses the IATA code CPT on tickets and baggage tags, and the ICAO code FACT in flight plans and on radar. The leading “F” in FACT is the region marker: ICAO codes are grouped geographically, which is why airports near each other usually share their first letter or two while their IATA codes look unrelated.

How many runways does CPT have?

Cape Town International Airport operates 2 runways across 1 passenger terminal. The field sits at 151 ft above sea level.

How busy is CPT?

This reference profile lists roughly 10.7 million annual passengers for Cape Town International Airport. You can see aircraft observed departing, arriving and overhead on this page, taken from live ADS-B broadcasts.

What time zone is CPT in?

Cape Town International Airport operates on Africa/Johannesburg local time. Scheduled departure and arrival times for this airport are always published in local time, not UTC.

How many terminals does CPT have?

This reference lists Cape Town International Airport with 1 passenger terminal. Check the airport or operating airline for the terminal assigned to a specific flight.

Can I track flights at CPT live?

Yes. The map on this page shows every aircraft broadcasting its position within about 55 km of Cape Town International Airport, and there are 3 in range as this page loaded. The boards split them into departures, arrivals and traffic passing overhead, all timed in Africa/Johannesburg.