Margate airport is a small airport near (you guessed it) Margate. It used to be possible to get there by flying on SA Airlink, however they stopped offering flights to it some time back. The reasons are not sure, but no doubt it was a result of a combination of a lack of profit and demand. However a new player on the block feels that now may be the right time to start offering these flights again. Fly Margate in association with Studio 88 Aviation and MGM Aviation have started, since the 6th September) offering regular scheduled flights to Margate. They are flying to and from East London, Johannesburg (Lanseria) and Mthatha.
The Johannesburg route (Margate – Lanseria – Margate) flies every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The pricing at the moment is a little steep, but hopefully will come down with demand, at R3 397.20 return.
The Mthatha route (Margate – Mthatha – Margate) flies every Tuesday and is priced at R1 846.80 return.
The East London route (Margate – east London – Margate) flies every Thursday and is priced at R2848.86 return.
So what has changed that lead this company to start offering these scheduled flights. Well, the new King Shaka airport is now the main entrance to KZN, and is actually a lot further away from the South Coast than the previous Durban airport was. This means that the Margate airport may actually be a much more convenient option for people and save them a good chunk of travel time – depending where they are going exactly.
Would you fly to Margate at these prices?
Considering the prices are for such a small airline carrier, I’m quite impressed.
Too expensive! We are family of 4 and like to fly to south coast for short break. R3500 x 4 people plus a rental car for around 5 days works out to over R15000. King Shaka with specials on Mango or Kulula is less than R5000. May be acceptable for single passenger, but definitely not for family or groups.
@Chris – Tricky one, do you think you could find it cheaper though? Travelling has become so incredibly expensive! I’m from Cape Town and to take my fiance away for 10 days somewhere beautiful, AND LOCAL, will cost me close to R25,000 – We could go to Thailand or Mauritius for a similiar price – blows my mind!
How long is the flight from Margate to Lanseria?
Far too expensive!
@Andre – Really? What should someone be paying?
Chris M – After doing a bit of research and chatting to a friend of mine that does charters, the high cost is due to the transport currently only being offered by a private charter services eg ‘Fly Margate’. The cost should be similar to flying down to King Shaka from OR Tambo which varies one way between around R400 to R800 depending which flight and when booked. The only way this could happen is if an Airlink or similar low fare airline deems it feasible enough to offer the service. Apparently nothing at the moment. The airline commuters are apparently all located in northern KZN. BS if u ask me…
@Andre – Really appreciate you coming back and sharing that insight with myself and all the followers, thank you! That’s exactly why I created this website in the first place, to create a wealth of knowledge and I bet you that someone will come across your comment and save some money, good on you!
I could not agree more. We own a property in Ramsgate and travel from Lanseria via Kulula to KSIA. Just look at Margate Mini Coach’s bus service. The busses are normally full. I do the trip often, and it is really irritating to think that SA Airlink years ago did fly to Margate. The area has grown, and as such the commutor demand. Unfortunately for reasons unknown only charters fly to Margate and they are frightfully expensive.
Let us hope that Mango/1 Time or the Green Mamba sees this opportunity and develop it. I am absolutely convinced that there is sufficient demand.
Cheers.
Dan van der Merwe
Apparently Avis has a branch at Margate airport. It would be ideal if one could fly down, rent a car and commute back. The drive to KSIA is just over an hour and a half (on a good day). I have actually missed a flight due to road works making the trip to the airport take around two hours.I agree with Dan that there is most definitely more than enough of a demand to justify regular flights to Margate. I would most certainly make use of such at least once every two months or so.