$469 Find Cheap Flights from the United Kingdom to South Africa

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Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to South Africa

Get data-powered insights and trends for flights to South Africa to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest flight to South Africa?

These are the best round-trip prices found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.

The cheapest ticket to South Africa from the United Kingdom found in the last 72 hours was to Cape Town, at $351 round-trip. The most popular route is London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport (JNB) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $783.

What is the cheapest month to fly from the United Kingdom to South Africa?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from the United Kingdom to South Africa, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from the United Kingdom to South Africa is May, when tickets cost $757 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are July and December, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,243 and $1,243 respectively.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to South Africa?

The average price for all round-trip flights from the United Kingdom to South Africa depending on the time of departure, clicked by users on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

The cheapest time of day to fly to South Africa is generally at night, when round-trip flights cost $1,145 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to South Africa is generally in the evening, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $1,236.

How far in advance should I book a flight from the United Kingdom to South Africa?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to South Africa, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from the United Kingdom to South Africa, you should book around 1 week before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 8 weeks before departure.

Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in South Africa?

Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in South Africa is Cape Town Intl Airport (CPT), with an average flight price of $950.

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Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$469
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 8% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 31% increase in price.
Flight from London Gatwick Airport to Johannesburg

FAQs for booking flights from the United Kingdom to South Africa

  • Which airlines operate non-stop flights to South Africa?

    British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and South African Airways operate direct flights from London Heathrow to Oliver Tambo International Airport and British Airways also operates direct flights to Cape Town International Airport.

  • What are the rules about car seats for children in South Africa?

    While it is not yet mandatory to have a suitable car seat for young children when driving in South Africa, it is advisable to take one with you if you are planning on doing a lot of driving. Alternatively, you can hire one along with your car hire and it is wise to do this in advance.

  • Where should I fly to in South Africa if I want to go to the Drakensberg?

    The Drakensberg, the highest range of mountains in southern Africa, is located in KwaZulu-Natal, so the best airport to fly into is King Shaka International in Durban. From here you can hire a car and drive to the southern part of the Drakensberg.

  • Do I need a visa for South Africa?

    British passport holders who are visiting South Africa for a period of less than 90 days do not need a visa to enter the country. However, your passport should have two blank pages in it and should also be valid for 6 months from your date of entry to South Africa.

  • Do some airlines offer more flights to South Africa for historical reasons?

    Due to South Africa's former status as a British colony and it remaining a member of the Commonwealth, British Airways has always offered the majority of flights from the UK to Cape Town and Johannesburg. The same is true of South African Airways, so you'll find plenty of flights on offer between these two carriers.

  • Are some flights to South Africa more carbon-efficient than others?

    Use the CO2 filter to find the flights that emit the least carbon from whichever airport you choose for your departure. British Airways is your best option if you're flying the most common route from Heathrow to OR Tambo. Booking with this carrier can save over 50% in overall carbon emissions.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from the United Kingdom to South Africa?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from the United Kingdom to South Africa.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from the United Kingdom to South Africa?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from the United Kingdom to South Africa is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from the United Kingdom to South Africa?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly from the United Kingdom to South Africa with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from the United Kingdom to South Africa?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from the United Kingdom to South Africa up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to South Africa?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to South Africa is Tuesday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $976. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Saturday, where round-trip prices are $1,244 on average.

Top tips for finding a cheap flight out of the United Kingdom

  • There are a number of international airports in South Africa that provide onward connections to other destinations within the country. Oliver Tambo International Airport (ORT) in Johannesburg is the central hub and from here you can get flights to all other cities in South Africa. If you want to visit the south of the country, you can fly into Cape Town International Airport (CPT), while King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban will give you easy access to the coastline of KwaZulu-Natal.
  • If you are travelling to South Africa with children, you will need to ensure that you are carrying full unabridged birth certificates for each child under the age of 18, especially if only one parent is travelling with the child. While this rule may not apply if both parents are travelling, the South African authorities reserve the right to ask to see the birth certificate and will turn you away at the border if you cannot produce it.
  • Visitors looking at flights to South Africa to visit the world-famous Kruger National Park in the north-east of the country should consider flying into Oliver Tambo in Johannesburg and catching an onwards domestic flight to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMI) in Nelspruit. The flight takes approximately 45min. It is also possible to fly to Nelspruit from Cape Town and Durban. In Nelspruit you can hire a car or catch a brebooked transfer to travel to Kruger.
  • If you are planning on driving the Garden Route, you could book a flight to George Airport (GRJ), which is situated at one end of this drive from the Eastern Cape to Cape Town. George Airport only has a domestic terminal, so you would need to book a connecting flight from your point of entry into South Africa to George, where you can then collect a hire car for the rest of your journey along the coast.
  • There is a limit to the amount of South African currency that you can carry into the country in cash and it is advisable to check this limit before you fly as it changes frequently. You can also carry a limited amount of cash in foreign currency that you can change at a bureau du change in the airport or, alternatively, use your credit or debit card at an ATM in the airport.
  • It pays to consider African airlines when you want to find cheap flights to South Africa. These are quite numerous, and usually only make one stopover en route, typically in their home country. A good example is Kenya Airways, which flies from London Heathrow (LHR) to OR Tambo (JNB) in Johannesburg, with a single stopover at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International (NBO).
  • South Africa is a vast country compared to the British Isles that just begs for a road trip or two. It's a really good idea to book a hire car through KAYAK when you find cheap flights to South Africa. An SUV or MPV will do you well, to handle the challenging roads through some of its major natural tourist attractions, like Namaqualand or the Karoo.
  • You can often find cheap flights to South Africa by choosing those operated by different airlines in tandem. For example, fly London Gatwick Airport (LGW) to Cape Town International (CPT) on Turkish Airlines, switching to South African Airways at Istanbul International (IST). Or fly from Edinburgh Turnhouse (EDI) to King Shaka Airport (DUR) in Durban on a combination of Turkish Airlines and Airlink, switching at OR Tambo.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from the United Kingdom to South Africa

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from the United Kingdom to South Africa? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.5
Virgin AtlanticOverall score based on 685 reviews
8.1Crew
7.5Entertainment
7.3Comfort
7.7Boarding
6.9Food
Airline reviews

Seating and zone. The minor I went with didn’t even seat close to me

4.0 OkayAnonymous, Mar 2026
BOS - LIS
Read more Virgin Atlantic reviews

Seating and zone. The minor I went with didn’t even seat close to me

My seat 3G did not go down fully and the buttons were not working properly

Food has been disappointing in both legs of flight to india

Great staff great experience, made a 2 hour delay very bearable

Great staff, great experience, made a 2 hour delay very bearable

Food was the worst I’ve had on a VA flight. Normally it’s a lot better

I was my pleasure to fly virgin on my birthday for my first solo trip ever 🫶🏼

These are one of the older seat arrangements facing away from the windows! Not particularly convenient sets. No storage spaces. NO COAT HANGING HOOKS. Inconvenient business class seat compared to any other airlines of similar class. Staff are excellent! Extremely professional, friendly. Food is good too.

Overall, flight was excellent but check in was very slow for Premium Economy. Economy queue was shorter but we weren't allowed to use it.

The staff was not very polite but the flight was very very nice and comfortable and the entertainment was great

The entertainment could have been better, better choice / better headphones, but overall very satisfied

The friendly staff. They kept time. Was suprised to get some drinks.

We did not even get on this flight as the plane never left London. I missed the email that was sent mid morning USA time, so we were not aware the flight was cancelled. There was absolutely no help from the staff at the Norse check in gates, we were told to take a picture of the board they were holding up, to try and claim our money back. We were told to book our own flights to London which ended up costing $10000 due to the last minute. And now we have to return to Miami in 2 weeks. I am not holding my breath about getting on board for that flight either.

Great experience. The flight was smooth with very little turbulence. We were in premium classic, so lots of leg room.

Didn’t know you had to pay for earbuds and food on flight. Sounds awesome and better way to not waste food or items. Comfort of flight is was amazing other than that

Unexpectedly was surprised with the space on flight in economy and the price.

I was not expecting having to pay for headphones, water and basic food in a 9 hours flight. Price for this flight was as high as any other, still I had to pay 4 lbs for a can of sprite. On top of that flight attendance gave a bothered look when I asked her for some ice for my soda. She reluctantly when to get it, brought me literally 3 cubes and walked away without looking at me to avoid another request. I couldn’t believe it. She was soooo rude. I will never book on Norse again and I will let everyone I know about this. Unforgivable, very bad customer service.

Great crew. Customer support is pretty much non existent. I had 2 tickets that were not used, the flight was overbooked. I think I should have been reimbursed for the unused tickets.

The movies were super old. The crew did not offer WATER???? 5 hours os flight and did not get WATER? Norse is the worst company I ever used and never will use again.

Why call us to board if we’re going to be made to stand in the tunnel for 20 minutes. Really hard for people with little children. Plus it took me ages to check in because my seat in Premium was overbooked so I didn’t actually have a seat. I did end up receiving my seat in Premium but there was a lot of stress and confusion beforehand. Hope is it possible to overbook seats? Especially in Premium!

The crew checked the immigration laws very quickly for Russian citizenship and confirmed our FVTF for Singapore for 96 hrs. Thank you.

I have travelled many times on Turkish, but they always board at least 30-40 minutes past the stated time. If informed properly, passengers can choose to spend more time in the .lounge instead of standing around by the gate waiting to board. The new lounge at DFW was a big disappointment. The aircraft itself was a shock. In the past I have flown this sector with regular business class seating configuration of 1-2-1, The 2-3-2 seating is very disappointing after paying such high prices for tickets. The DFW to Istanbul segment was slightly better, but the Istanbul to Delhi segment was no better than premium economy. I will try to travel more on airlines which give business class passengers more value for their money.

Good overall. Seat spacing a bit tight between IST and ISB.

They have adopted a crazy "no paper boarding passes at all cost policy". We spent half an our at the checkin stall – my elderly mother and her grandchildren were flying. She had no phone reception for some reason (besides being an inexperienced smartphone user), the kids had dumbphones, And they still won't issue a paper boarding pass. We had to do a lengthy dance with getting the boarding pass SMS on my phone and transferring them to her phone via WiFi. This was horrible, honestly. I can't imagine how they could manage it without me being there. Trees (and airline profits) should be less important than people.

Everything was good except that they didn’t give us seat for our connecting flight in Istanbul from Cairo. This created a panic situation. Hopefully they give all customers connecting flights seats right from the start.

The airport staff never announced that boarding has started. Both at iad or Islamabad or Istanbul.

PLEASE GIVRE US PERMISSION TO BOOK SEAT NUMBER EVEN WITH FEES

The fact that my flight was cancelled and made wait for 14 Fing hours to booka flightto a neighboring country.... never again

The worst experience I have ever been in, they canceled my ticket the very last minute although it was Booked since October! They claimed it was not possible to change the schedule till January 11, 2026 and all my plans were screwed! My wife paid cash upfront a down payment for a surgery she was going to perform on dec 27th, and all these money lost! I’m considering seriously to get support

Awful seating. Bad food. Staff only have one bottle of water and no cans.

I paid for internet that did not work and had to pay more to have it

We had a good flight experience with this airline despite reading many negative comments

The plane was ok, I was in business class and was surprised there were no pods and each seat was right next to another one. That said it was comfortable and the food and coffee were good. Entertainment wise again I was surprised to see only movies and no TV shows. Check-in at Toronto Pearson was an absolute disaster, which was especially disappointing as I was a business class passenger. There was no dedicated staffing for the business counter and four (4) airlines employees assisted one economy class passenger for about 15 minutes when one could have easily assisted me. Overall room for improvement, particularly in the on-ground experience and airplane infrastructure.

Check in took over an hour because printer was not working. Attendant did not know how to give free layover Addis Ababa hotel vouchers or update frequent flyer number. After repeated attempts, got voucher emailed. However hotel wanted printed voucher hence more delay. Bus time from hotel back to airport was printed 4:50 hours, but hotel reception called at 3 pm saying bus will leave at 4 pm. Then hotel reception called again saying 4:15 pm. We rushed at 4:15 pm and bus was not ready until 4:40 pm. Many audio outlets were not working in planes.

I had a memorable experience. I dont have any comments at this time regarding waht could be better.

The crew was not helping us in the airports ..Very bad experience..the washrooms are not meeting the expectations..need more good service... The hotel service was good but there is a very long wait time which wasted time to go through..

Need to do a lot of improvement on service and cleaness

Our first flight was delayed and when we got off that plane, nobody was really helping to direct us to the next gate. It was very frustrating. One staff simply said hurry, which wasn’t helpful. We had to go a long way to get to the next gate. Another issue on the plane itself was the bathrooms were disgusting and filthy and it didn’t seem like anybody was checking on them were cleaning them and it was a long flight. There was urine on the floor and they stunk. Also, the screen in front of my seat did not work, and I tried different headphones and still had no sound. You would think somehow those things are reviewed occasionally for working order.

They only gave us 30 minutes to make an international connecting flight. We didn’t make the connection but they did do a good job rebooking us despite the chaos. Our bags didn’t make it back and their process for customer support is pretty bad when it comes to luggage.

The Boeing 737 MAX on this route, flown in the middle of the night, is an UTTER FAILURE for business travellers. The whole point of business travel is to arrive alert and recover from travel quickly, and this little aeroplane with its quarter recline uncomfortable business seats does nothing for that. It’s a small step up from economy in that you have decent legroom, but that’s it. Absolute margin at the cost of the traveller.

Club Europe is always lovely. I really enjoy everything about it. One thing that has changed in recent years though, is the swap to Prosecco from Champagne in the lounges. This is really disappointing. I really don’t like Prosecco, and always looked forward to a lovely glass of champagne in the lounge. Is it possible to change back? It does make the whole experience a little more of a luxury experience.

the service on Business class should be improved to be at par with industry leaders like Cathay Pacific and Singapore AIrlines. A lot of room for improvement.

The crew on the flight were not particularly pleasant and fluid restriction was an issue. I was not allowed to fill my water bottle. Crew didn't check on passengers other than meal service.

You will pay for everything and feels like the airplane is old

The luggage problem I previously mentioned was actually this flight

The flight was delayed due to snow in Frankfurt. There wasn't much information from BA or the airport, but Kayak was great and kept me informed of the delay and gate changes.

Late takeoff, but on time landing. Lost bags, 3 days to find them, still in transit to my location. Power outlets broken, Wi-Fi not working, so much for working on the long flight.

Good. For a long flight. The comfort of the seat could be better. Also, the food was « normal » plane food. Not indian plane food unfortunately! Everything else was smooth and great.

The seats were comfortable. So many empty seats allowed for stretching out and sleeping. The onboard entertainment was pretty good. The cabin crew were so kind and kept the passengers well- hydrated, and well fed.

We had American Airlines on our return and it was confusing if we were going with Aa or BA I had 2 different flight numbers and didn’t get our gate until it was boarding. So we were a bit nervous as the which it was

Everything you need to know for your flight to South Africa

Cabin class types available on flights to South Africa

Cabin classes available on flights to South Africa. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.
First Class flights to South Africafrom $8,716
Business Class flights to South Africafrom $1,281
Premium Economy Class flights to South Africafrom $1,542
Economy Class flights to South Africafrom $351