Polokwane International Airport
Polokwane International Airport serves Polokwane, a city in the South African province of Limpopo. It was formerly known as Pietersburg International Airport, as the city itself was called Pietersburg until 2005. The airport is also occasionally called Gateway International Airport, but this name has now largely fallen into disuse.
Founded on the site of an old Air Force Base in 1996, Polokwane International handles around five thousand aircraft a year, and just under forty thousand passengers. Although it does handle international flights, these are generally cargo aircraft transporting goods and industrial materials. The airport’s commercial passenger flights are domestic only, serving the route between Polokwane and Johannesburg. These flights are operated by South African Airways in conjunction with Airlink, as part of their alliance aimed at connecting smaller South African towns and cities to the major transport hubs of Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
Flights between Polokwane and Johannesburg are subject to slight variation, so it’s best to check up-to-date flight schedules to see which flights are available on the day you want to travel. Generally speaking, on weekdays there are four flights per day in each direction, with one on Saturday and two on Sunday. However, during the FIFA World Cup Finals in June 2010, SAA will be running an extended schedule to cope with the additional volume of passengers. This is because some of the group stage matches will be played at Polokwane’s Peter Mokaba Stadium, which has been purpose built for the tournament. The stadium will host Algeria v Slovenia on the 13th June, France v Mexico on 17th June, Greece v Argentina on 22nd June, and Paraguay v New Zealand on 24th June. Additional flights will take place on these dates, and the days immediately before and after.
In preparation for the tournament, Polokwane International has been significantly upgraded. A new terminal building has been constructed, complete with amenities previously lacking in the airport. The terminal is capable of handling four hundred passengers per hour, so it should easily be able to manage the increase of passengers expected during the World Cup finals. Although there is no direct rail link from the airport to Polokwane, a lot of money has been invested in improving bus and taxi services, while national car hire companies also have a presence at the airport. For large groups, private coach and bus hire is available from Limpopo Coaches, who are based in Polokwane.