Durban King Shaka International Airport Statistics

King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) serves as the main aviation gateway to KwaZulu-Natal province and Durban, South Africa’s third-largest city. The airport plays a key role in domestic travel and regional connections while also functioning as an international access point to the Indian Ocean coastline.

King Shaka International Airport processes over 5 million passengers each year, showing steady recovery from the pandemic and retaining its position as South Africa’s third-busiest airport.

• KSIA handled 5.62 million passengers in the year ending March 2026 (FY2026), which is a 92% recovery compared to pre-pandemic levels.
• The airport had reached 6.10 million passengers in FY2020 before COVID-19 significantly reduced operations.
• Passenger numbers dropped sharply to 1.50 million in FY2021, one of the steepest declines among South African airports during the pandemic.
• Recovery gained momentum with 3.22 million passengers in FY2022, followed by 4.31 million in FY2023, 4.99 million in FY2024, and 5.04 million in FY2025, leading to the current levels.

Types of Passengers

King Shaka International Airport has a heavily domestic passenger base, with over 94% of travelers on domestic routes. This reflects its role as a regional hub in South Africa’s aviation network.

• Domestic passengers totaled 5.31 million in the year ending March 2026 (FY2026), representing 94.5% of total traffic.
• International passengers reached 296,387 in FY2026, accounting for 5.3% of total traffic.
• Regional passenger traffic accounted for 6,217, while unscheduled passenger traffic totaled 7,624.

The airline mix at King Shaka includes domestic low-cost carriers and full-service airlines, along with a few key international routes.

• CemAir, Safair and Airlink each serve 5 destinations.
• FlexFlight, LIFT and Eswatini Air operate to 2 destinations each.

• 13 direct domestic routes serve major cities and regional centers in South Africa.
• Around 8 international routes connect to cities in the Middle East and Africa.
• The core network includes 21 direct routes serving business and leisure travel year-round.
• Seasonal charter flights add routes during peak periods.

• Airline-related issues like crew shortages, aircraft malfunctions and logistical delays.
• Technical or mechanical aircraft issues that lead to groundings or cancellations.
• Air traffic congestion on busy domestic routes, especially to Johannesburg and Cape Town.
• Weather-related disruptions, though less common than at other airports.
• Delays at major hubs that cause ripple effects for connecting flights.

Financial data for King Shaka International Airport is not reported separately from its parent company, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), which operates nine airports across the country.

• The ACSA group generated R7.89 billion in revenue in FY2025.
• The group reported R1.13 billion net profit in that financial year.

Note: Financial statements for FY 2026 have not been released yet.