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Cape Town travellers have another route to Gauteng, and this one skips the O.R. Tambo shuffle.
Airlink will launch twice-daily flights between Cape Town International Airport and Lanseria International Airport from Friday, 4 December 2026, giving passengers a direct alternative for travelling between the Mother City and Johannesburg’s western side.
The new service is designed for travellers who want to avoid O.R. Tambo’s congestion, while providing easier access to communities and businesses across western Gauteng and the North West province.
“Travel options on this route have been limited,” said Airlink CEO de Villiers Engelbrecht. “Our intention is to give passengers a comfortable and enjoyable alternative for travelling between the two regions, while also complementing our existing services to O.R. Tambo.”
And there’s another first: Lanseria will become the first domestic destination in Airlink’s scheduled network outside its existing Johannesburg service at O.R. Tambo.
The route will be operated using Airlink’s 98-seat Embraer E190 aircraft. The cabin comes with a small but welcome perk: every passenger gets a window or aisle seat. That’s right, no middle seats! Nobody has to negotiate the dreaded armrest territory.
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Flight times
From Friday, 4 December, Airlink will operate two return flights daily between Cape Town and Lanseria.
The morning service leaves Cape Town at 9:20am, arriving at Lanseria at 11:35am. The return flight departs Lanseria at 1pm, landing in Cape Town at 3:25pm.
The second rotation departs Cape Town at 1:30 pm, arriving at 3:45pm, while the return Lanseria-to-Cape Town service leaves at 9:10 am and arrives at 11:35am.
Airlink isn’t stopping at two daily return flights. From Monday, 22 March 2027, the airline plans to increase the route to four daily return flights, with an updated timetable to be released closer to the time.
For Cape Town business travellers, weekenders and anyone with a reason to be on Gauteng’s western side, the new connection could mean less airport hassle and a more direct journey.
Flights can be booked and managed via Airlink’s website, the FlyAirlink smartphone app or through travel agents.
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