King Shaka International Airport guide

King Shaka International Airport opened on 1 May 2010, replacing the former Durban International Airport. It sits in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, 35 km north of Durban city centre. The airport is operated by Airports Company South Africa and is the third busiest airport in South Africa, handling over 5.6 million passengers in the 2025-26 financial year.

The airport has a single integrated passenger terminal spanning 102,000 m² across two levels, with arrivals on the lower floor and departures above. Separate domestic and international security checkpoints feed into their respective departure lounges. Domestic carriers FlySafair, Airlink, CemAir, LIFT, and South African Airways connect Durban to Johannesburg and Cape Town. International services include Emirates to Dubai, Qatar Airways to Doha, and Turkish Airlines to Istanbul.

The airport is positioned within Dube Tradeport, a special economic zone combining air cargo, logistics, and industrial facilities. Its single runway measures 3,700 m. The location north of Durban provides convenient access to the Ballito and uMhlanga coastal corridor as well as the broader KwaZulu-Natal tourism market.