George_Airport Knowpia

George Airport
George Airport
	IATA: GRJ; ICAO: FAGG;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Airports Company South Africa
Serves	George, Garden Route District Municipality, South Africa
Hub for	FlySafair; LIFT (airline); South African Airways;
Elevation AMSL	639 ft / 195 m
Coordinates	34°00′24″S 22°22′51″E / 34.00667°S 22.38083°E
Website	acsa.co.za
Map
	GRJ Location in the Western Cape GRJ GRJ (South Africa) GRJ GRJ (Africa)
Runways
Statistics (Jan-Dec 2019)
Passenger traffic
Passenger traffic	840,804
	Source: Airports Company South Africa

George Airport (IATA: GRJ, ICAO: FAGG) (Afrikaans: George Lughawe) is an airport located in George, Western Cape, South Africa. It was formerly known as P.W. Botha Airport, named after the state president who lived in this part of the country.

This airport was originally built in 1977 as an exact replica of the Keetmanshoop Airport in Namibia, but since its expansion and renovation, it now looks completely different. George Airport has won the award for Africa's best airport in the category under two million passengers per year six times; the last time was in 2017. The award is given by Airports Council International (ACI).^[3]

In 2013, the airport served 560,432 passengers, substantially more than the 154,000 in 2003. From 2014 onwards, continued increase in passenger numbers were witnessed, with 2017 seeing a record number of passengers (785,486), closing in on the design capacity of the airport which should necessitate further terminal expansion in the near future.

Airlines and destinations edit

Passenger edit

Airlines	Destinations
Airlink	Cape Town, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo
CemAir	Bloemfontein,^[4] Cape Town,^[5] Durban,^[6] Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo^[7]
FlySafair	Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo

Cargo edit

Airlines	Destinations
BidAir Cargo	Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo^[8]

Traffic statistics edit

Civil annual passenger traffic. See Wikidata query.

**Annual passenger traffic**^[9]
Year	Passengers	% Change
2006	589,674	4.2%
2007	652,031	10.6%
2008	630,385	3.3%
2009	548,498	13.0%
2010	526,823	4.0%
2011	565,291	7.3%
2012	555,386	1.8%
2013	560,432	0.9%
2014	597,637	6.6%
2015	698,187	16.8%
2016	738,475	5.8%
2017	785,486	6.4%
2018	836,699	6.5%
2019	840,813	0.49%

Accidents and incidents edit

7 December 2009 – An Embraer ERJ 135 (registration:ZS-SJW) operated by Airlink on a scheduled flight (SA-8625) overran the runway in wet conditions and ended up on a public road. There were no fatalities, but the plane suffered substantial damage.^[10]^[11] The accident was caused by an incorrect sealant used on the runway, and the airline was cleared of all blame. Airlink's insurers took legal action against the state-owned Airports Company of South Africa.^[12]

References edit

^ "ACSA – Durban Passenger Statistics". Airports Company South Africa. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
^ "ACSA – Durban Aircraft Statistics". Airports Company South Africa. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
^ "George Airport wins award". George Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
^ https://www.facebook.com/flycemair/photos/a.1416817981867233/2776145309267820/ ^{[user-generated source]}
^ "Closure of Plettenberg Bay Airport to commercial flights sparks outcry".
^ "Cemair 2Q23 Network Additions". AeroRoutes. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
^ "CemAir / Scheduled flights in South Africa".
^ bidaircargo.com – Network. Retrieved 13 January 2021
^ "ACSA Passenger Statistics". Airports Company South Africa. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
^ Hradecky, Simon (7 December 2009). "Accident: SA Airlink E135 at George on Dec 7th 2009, overran runway". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
^ "Airlink plane overshoots George runway". Mail & Guardian. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
^ Business Day – Airlink in clear, Acsa blamed for George near-disaster