What it costs to fly from Joburg to Cape Town right now

South Africans can expect to pay at least R3,314 to fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town over the next few weeks.

However, this figure is heavily dependent on the days and times you choose to fly, as more convenient travel times typically come at a premium.

South Africa’s cheapest air fares

TopAuto used Google Flights data to compare the best rates for flights with every major airline in South Africa for a flight booked one week in advance.

Booking flights on Tuesday, 26 May 2026, the cheapest available flights for the following week were for Monday, 1 June.

Of course, flights tend to be cheaper in the week, since the weekend is a more ideal time to travel.

This is particularly relevant with the Cape Town-Joburg route, as it is common practice for working professionals who live in the Mother City to travel to Gauteng for work during the week, only to return home for the weekends.

Our search was filtered for a single adult travelling one-way in economy class from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

These were the best results for FlySafair, Lift, South African Airways (SAA), CemAir, and Airlink.

Note that these figures are accurate at the time of writing and are subject to change based on the time and day you book:

FlySafair, the country’s largest domestic air carrier, proved to be the cheapest option at R1,507, saving R273 compared to the second best option, Lift.

In contrast, SAA was the most expensive, charging almost R1,000 more than FlySafair.

However, the most affordable flights were all late in the evening due to lower demand.

If you want a more convenient travel experience with a morning slot, FlySafair will charge around R1,707, meaning it is still cheaper than its competitors.

As for the return flight, we looked at options leaving that same week.

Surprisingly, the cheapest listings for flights departing from Cape Town International Airport were for Saturday, 6 June.

These were the cheapest return ticket results for each airline:

Flights were more expensive across the board, but FlySafair once again proved to be the cheapest at R1,807.

Timeslots were also better, likely due to the fact we were booking further in advance compared to the first flight.

Assuming you pick both of the cheapest available flights, you’ll be looking at a total bill of R3,314.

This is substantially more affordable than what it cost one month earlier, indicating that the aviation industry has largely managed to stabilise, following the surge in jet fuel prices caused by the war in Iran.

In April, the same flights would have cost a minimum of R4,687, while in February, prices were as low as R1,540, illustrating the effect that the Middle East conflict has had on South Africa’s travel costs.