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East London Airport
Most people would not look twice at the East London Airport. A window to the skies for this relatively small coastal town, the airport is still quite small and does not see as much traffic as most of the other airports around the country. Still, the airport does play and important role in the growth of the Eastern Cape’s economy, bringing thousands of tourists and holiday makers to this small coastal town each year. In this regard, its role is pivotal to this small corner of South Africa.
It all started in 1927 when Lieutenant Colonel Alistair Miller requested that the East London town council establish a municipal aerodrome at Woodbrook which was west of the city. It wasn’t long before this was done and this humble airport had one hangar, a single telephone, a wind indicator and a petrol pump. Regular passenger flights took place on Saturday afternoons and all Sunday on two de Havilland Moth planes if the weather permitted. Flights could be booked on weekdays but only by special arrangement. By 1944 there was a need to expand the airport facilities and a new airport was built at Collondale near the Department of Correctional Services. This new location proved to be a disappointment and in 1965, the airport was moved to its present site, which is roughly 9 km west of the city centre. The terminal buildings were completed the following year. The airport was named after Ben Schoeman who was the minister of transport at the time but this name is no longer in use.
Today the East London Airport sees the arrival of between 20 and 30 flights. Some 346 000 people arrive in the city by means of this airport each year. The majority of flights – both cargo and passenger – are bound for domestic destinations, though a small percentage of cargo flights do go to either France or the Netherlands. The current runway measures 1 935 meters at it’s longest and it can cater to an A300 but only smaller aircraft are used. The airport has an asphalt surface and it caters to five different local airlines. Besides the usual range of passenger and cargo services, the East London Airport has a coffee shop, a restaurant and a bookshop. It’s diminutive size and low level of traffic makes it a pleasure to use.