The cheapest flight currently available in South Africa will cost you just R470 if you’re travelling one way, or R1,040 for a return trip.
TopAuto compared the cheapest flights offered by various airlines in South Africa, and found that the best deal is currently offered by FlySafair on its route between Johannesburg and Durban.
We used Google Flights data to compare the rates for different flights taking place in South Africa for a one-week trip starting in May 2025, just over a week from the time of writing.
The parameters were set for a single adult travelling in economy class with an allowance of one free carry-on bag but no checked luggage.
Based on this criteria, the cheapest available flight was set for Sunday, 4 May, which would depart at 06h00 from O.R. Tambo International Airport.
It lands at King Shaka Airport in Durban at 07h15, only asking for R470 in return.
When we selected a round trip option, the cost increased to R1,040 with a return flight leaving Durban at 19h40 to reach Joburg by 20h50 on Sunday, 10 May.
Google Flight’s cost analyzer also noted that this flight was cheaper than average, indicating that it is taking place over a period of low demand.
Another interesting point is that the Durban-Joburg flight is slightly more expensive than the one heading in the opposite direction, costing R570 instead of R470.
What isn’t that surprising to see is that the Gauteng-to-KwaZulu-Natal route is one of the cheapest ones you can find in South Africa.
This is because it is both a very popular and relatively short trip, clocking in at an hour and 15 minutes over a distance of roughly 570km, which translates to a quick turnover time for the airlines.
Longer flights are more expensive based on fuel costs alone, but a route also needs to be popular or else an airline will need to charge a higher margin to make up for the lower passenger count.
The second cheapest flight we found was from Joburg to Mbombela, which cost R1,436 for a return voyage.
Again, this isn’t a surprising result given it is a very short flight to a popular destination, which cannot be said of other relatively short flights like the one to Richard’s Bay.
Bloemfontein was another decent option at R1,440 while Cape Town clocked in at R1,940, which is partially explained by its much greater distance compared to many of the other listings.
On the opposite extreme, there was a flight option for Sishen – a small airport in a remote part of the Northern Cape – which asked for R8,054 despite only being an hour and 15 minutes.
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