Vadim Stepanov | aviaspotting.com
SPOTTING REPORT
In my recent trips to Southern Africa – to Republic of South Africa and neighboring countries – I managed to photograph airplanes in 12 airports in 8 countries of the region plus Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia, my transit point on the way to South Africa and back.
This is the overview of my plane spotting experience in Southern Africa. Spotting in Africa is not easy due to low traffic, except the biggest airports of the continent, poor infrastructure and lack of convenient spotting locations in the majority of the airports. Not easy does not mean impossible, isn’t it? I checked it and made sure that it was possible and interesting to shoot.
The most attractive feature of African spotting is the presence of local airlines most of which are rarely, if ever, seen outside Africa. Of course, African giants like Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways or Kenya Airways fly to many destinations outside Africa. But most of the companies are local carriers.
Here is a list of airports where I photographed with my spotting ratings, which evaluate traffic, variety of airlines and convenience of the spots, backed up by some actual data on the number of flights and airlines. See details in the brief Spotting Guides for each particular airport.
| Airport | Air Traffic | Airline Variety | Spotting Locations |
| Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), Ethiopia |  |  |  |
| Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport (JNB), South Africa | | | |
| Johannesburg Lanseria International Airport (HLA), South Africa | |  | |
| Cape Town International Airport (CPT), South Africa |  | | |
| Durban King Shaka International Airport (DUR), South Africa | | | |
| Manzini King Mswati III International Airport (SHO), Eswatini | | | |
| Gaborone Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE), Botswana | | | |
| Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH), Namibia | | | |
| Windhoek Eros Airport (ERS), Namibia | | | |
| Victoria Falls Airport (VFA), Zimbabwe | | | |
| Livingstone Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport (LVI), Zambia | | | |
| Antananarivo Ivato International Airport (TNR), Madagascar | | | |
| Mauritius Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU), Mauritius | | | |
There is a lot of traffic as well as more or less convenient spotting points in Johannesburg OR Tambo, Addis Ababa and Cape Town airports, all three belonging to top-5 airports in Africa, ranked by total passengers per year. The Mauritius airport is the best in terms of spotting locations, and also had a nice variation of airlines. Durban King Shaka International Airport is relatively busy, but had limited number of airlines and few good points for aircraft spotting. Other airports reviewed here are mostly local air harbors, but if you are already there, you can find some opportunities to photograph airplanes there too.
Below is a brief description of my experience in each of the airports.
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), Ethiopia
Third busiest airport in Africa by passengers per year, ADD has more destinations than any other airport in the continent. But the variety of airlines is not high because most of the destinations are served by the national carrier, Ethiopian Airlines. There are not many convenient spots near the airport. The best point for photographing is the big windows in the airside zone of the terminal. From there you can see all movements in the airport.
Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport (JNB), South Africa
The biggest airport in South Africa ranked second in Africa by passenger number. All local airlines (national carrier South African Airways, Airlink, CemAir, FlySafair and others) and many carriers from Africa, Europe, Middle East, US and Australia fly to JNB. In the connected domestic and international terminal there are good viewing decks located in the landside zones. Both decks provide the views on the apron and allow seeing almost every aircraft movement. Spots outside the airport give an additional opportunity for good shots, but are generally not safe and require a car to get there.
Johannesburg Lanseria International Airport (HLA), South Africa
Small and cozy local airport with limited passenger traffic represented only by FlySafair low cost flights to Cape Town and Durban. The restaurant terrace in the Terminal level 2 (landside) provides nice view to the runway. But the main attraction of Lanseria is the numerous hangars and parking lots of general and business aviation. The ramp tour offered by Lanseria allows you to walk around the entire airport and visit all the hangars. The tour must be agreed in advance (by email), costs a reasonable small fee and starts from Lanseria permit office (spot 2).
Cape Town International Airport (CPT), South Africa
Second in the country and fifth busiest airport in Africa operates a lot of local and international flights and provides relatively good spotting opportunities. The most convenient spots are located within the terminals and airport parking garages. In the terminal there are big windows suitable for photographing both in landside and airside zones. But probably the best spot is on the upper floors of P1 multilevel parking accessible by the walkway from the terminal. Spots near the Erica Drive in the northeastern perimeter of the airport allow making photos with the Table Mountain in the background, but are not safe and require the car. At Spot 5 security staff will arrive soon and will ask you to leave. Spot 6 in the top of small grassy hill is quieter, but much further from the runway. On the hill you can be disturbed by locals, not always friendly.
Durban King Shaka International Airport (DUR), South Africa
The airport of the third-most populous city in South Africa is, not surprisingly, third busiest in the country. Local flights prevails the international traffic in DUR. Spotting locations are limited with the best spots located within the terminal. The windows in the southern end of Departure hall, were low cost carriers gates are located, provides the best view to the airfield and arriving aircrafts.
Manzini King Mswati III International Airport (SHO), Eswatini
The major airport of small state Eswatini is located in the middle of the country, has one runway and one small terminal. South African Airlink and national carrier Eswatini Air operate in the airport with few flights per day to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Harare. Spotting is possible from the terminal, but if you are a passenger, you can shoot at the airfield during boarding or disembarking since you have to walk across the airfield from the ramp to the terminal or back.
Gaborone Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE), Botswana
Three airlines fly to the airport of Botswana capital – Air Botswana, Airlink and Ethiopian Airlines. Windows in landside and airside zones of the terminal allow you to see and photograph the planes parked at the gates.
Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH), Namibia
Windhoek main airport is not spotting friendly place. There are no convenient spots in the terminal. The area around airport territory is private property, visitors not allowed. The only place where spotting is possible is the roadside of the Trans-Kalahari highway close to threshold 08.
Windhoek Eros Airport (ERS), Namibia
The second airport of Windhoek is located few km south of city’s central business district. Eros is a hub of general aviation and some commercial aviation. FlyNamibia also has few local passenger flights from Eros. Spotting is possible from the terminal landside zone (level 2) or from unpaved path in the western perimeter of the airport.
Victoria Falls Airport (VFA), Zimbabwe
The airport is the major hub for regular flights serving Victoris Falls tourists. Airlines from South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Ethiopia and Kenya fly to VFA. However, the traffic is relatively small. Spotting is possible from the terminal departure hall.
Livingstone Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport (LVI), Zambia
Second airport serving Victoria Falls tourism, but the traffic and airlines variety is smaller than in adjacent Victoria Falls airport in the Zimbabwe side of the falls. Big windows of the food court in the level 2 (landside) face apron and allow watching all aircraft movements in the airport.
Antananarivo Ivato International Airport (TNR), Madagascar
Main international airport of Madagascar is not very busy but is connected by some long-haul flights with Europe, as well as with African neighbors. If you are a passenger, spotting from terminal is easy. There is also couple of spots at the threshold 11.
Mauritius Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU), Mauritius
The Mauritius airport is quite busy with the passenger traffic around 4 mln passengers per year. You can catch a wide variety of airlines here, with regular and seasonal charter flights from Europe, India, Middle East and Africa. Air Mauritius, the flag carrier airline of Mauritius, is the only local airline. Mauritius airport provides number of spotting locations in the terminals and around the perimeter. The best spot in my experience is at the road to Mahebourg at the northwest side of the airport.
In summary, planespotting in Southern Africa is possible in every airport, but the traffic, airline variety and spotting conditions are usually poor, except major airports of the continent. Johannesburg OR Tambo, Johannesburg Lanseria, Cape Town and Mauritius airports are definitely worth a visit. As for the rest, you can visit them on the way, or if you are specifically interested in small airports and rare airlines.
See Also
Blood, Sweat and Tears. Spotting in Havana, Cuba | Spotting Report
In the Center of the Frame. Central America and Mexico Planespotting trip
Spotting Guides sections of this website for brief guides and spotting maps of all these 13 airports
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