Johannesburg

Empty leg flights from Johannesburg

Johannesburg is the feeder airport for southern African safari, and that single fact shapes everything on this board. Lodges in Botswana, the Kruger lowveld, the Limpopo valley and the Mozambique coast are reached by air because the drive is impractical, and the aircraft that carry guests in have to come back out. Those return sectors are the empty leg flights listed here: crew, fuel and handling already paid for, offered one-way at a reduced price.

The pattern is unusually consistent. Recent legs have run to Maun for the Okavango Delta, to the Limpopo Valley, Chiredzi and Malelane for the reserves, and along the coast to Vilanculos. Domestically the Cape Town corridor is the steadiest. The live counts under “Where these flights go” are read from the current board rather than a fixed list.

Which Johannesburg airport

The choice matters more here than almost anywhere else on this list:

• Lanseria (HLA) is the business aviation field, north-west of the city and close to Sandton and Fourways. Fast on the ground, and where most safari feeder flights actually depart from.
• OR Tambo (JNB) is the main international airport east of the city. Use it when you are connecting to or from a long-haul airline sector, but expect longer ground time and a harder drive to the northern suburbs.

If your onward plan is a lodge transfer rather than an airline connection, Lanseria is almost always the better arrival.

What an empty leg from Johannesburg costs

Where an operator publishes a price it is shown exactly as listed, as a whole-aircraft figure rather than a per-seat fare. Southern African safari operators frequently list availability without a price, so those cards read Price on enquiry — we would rather say that than estimate. Our guide to the most affordable way to charter a private jet compares the options, and the private jet cost per hour breakdown gives the standard-charter benchmark.

The workhorse on these routes is the Pilatus PC-12 NGX — single turboprop, short unpaved strips, eight seats — which is exactly what bush airstrips demand. Jets such as the Citation CJ4 appear on the Cape Town and regional city runs. Bush strips also carry strict baggage limits, usually soft bags only, so confirm the allowance with the operator before you pack. Browse by aircraft type if the airframe matters.

What to know before you enquire

An empty leg exists because of the paid charter around it, so it can be sold or moved without notice. Every listing here is recorded from what the operator published, with the date we last saw it. Treat it as a strong indication rather than a guarantee, and confirm with the operator before planning around it.

Empty Leg List is a listing service. We are not a broker, not an operator, and not party to any booking, and we take no commission. Your enquiry goes to the operator covering the route, who confirms availability and final price with you directly. If nothing matches, request a charter quote and we forward it to operators flying that corridor.

Where these flights go

Working out the busiest corridors…

What flies here

Working out which aircraft show up…

Airports

Where the aircraft actually go

Other cities on the list

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