Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport lies at Walmer, on the southern edge of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) on South Africa's Eastern Cape coast, and is the region's principal international gateway. Operated by Airports Company South Africa, it combines scheduled airline traffic with a South African Air Force presence and a resident air force museum, making it an interesting and historically rich destination for the visiting simulator pilot. Its two hard-surfaced, lit runways and full ATC service make it straightforward to fly into under instrument or visual conditions alike.
Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport, known by its ICAO code FAPE and IATA code PLZ, serves the coastal city of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is owned and operated by Airports Company South Africa and acts as a hub for FlySafair and South African Airways, with regular services to Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Beyond its role as a civil airport, the field also hosts a South African Air Force helicopter flight and a branch of the SAAF Museum, giving it a strong historical character alongside its everyday airline operations.
The airport sits in the suburb of Walmer, close to Gqeberha's central business district and beachfront, on the southern side of the city. It is a controlled aerodrome with its own approach and tower service, and pilots can expect to operate within controlled airspace around the field rather than joining an uncontrolled circuit.
The airport has two runways. Runway 08/26 is a hard-surfaced, lit runway of 6,489 feet and is equipped with an ILS, making it the primary instrument runway. Runway 17/35 is also hard-surfaced and lit, with recorded lengths of 5,495 feet on runway 17 and 5,639 feet on runway 35; it has no ILS. The airport sits at an elevation of 197 feet.
Pilots should expect to work Port Elizabeth Approach on 120.4 MHz and Tower on 118.1 MHz, with an ATIS broadcast on 112.9 MHz providing arrival and departure information. Clearance Delivery is available on 122.1 MHz, and a further ground/apron-related frequency is published on 122.65 MHz. Runway 08/26 is served by an ILS for instrument approaches.
As a controlled aerodrome with its own approach and tower service, traffic is managed by air traffic control throughout the arrival and departure phases, with pilots obtaining clearance before taxi and following ATC instructions for joining and departing the runway pattern.
The airfield's origins trace back to the first flight between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in 1917, flown by Major Allister Mackintosh Miller, which is credited with launching civil aviation in the city. Port Elizabeth Airport itself was established in 1929 by Lieutenant Colonel Miller to support an airmail service to Cape Town, though it was not formally opened until 1936, when it had a single runway, one hangar and a concrete apron. During the Second World War the airfield was expanded to host 42 Air School of the Royal Air Force, part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, together with 6 Squadron of the South African Air Force, operating from the southern and eastern sides of the field while commercial flights continued from the north. In 1954 the airport saw the first jet aircraft to land there, five De Havilland Vampire FB9s. Permanent terminal buildings, runways and an air traffic control building were constructed from 1950, with commercial operations temporarily relocated to St Albans some 25 kilometres away during the works; the new facilities opened in 1955. Further expansion followed, including an enlarged apron in 1973 and a new departures terminal in 1980. The airport was renamed from H. F. Verwoerd Airport to Port Elizabeth International Airport, and was renamed again, officially gazetted on 23 February 2021, as Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.
The airport remains an active mixed civil and military field. Airport Company South Africa operates the site, with scheduled airline services from Airlink, CemAir, FlySafair and South African Airways connecting Gqeberha to Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Air Force Station Port Elizabeth, home to C Flight of 15 Squadron of the South African Air Force, operates helicopters primarily for maritime and landward search and rescue from the airfield. A branch of the South African Air Force Museum is also based at the airport, housing historical military jets, helicopters and related exhibits spanning the field's service from the Second World War through to the end of apartheid.
