Cheap flights from London to Cape Town

Assistance with flght quotes

You want to travel on the cheapest flight from London to Cape Town. The way to make sure that you book a cheap flight is to check the airfare of every airline operating flights from London to Cape Town (links to their online flight reservation tools listed below).

Direct flights from London to Cape Town

British Airways	London to Cape Town Airport (CPT)	non-stop (11h30m)

Virgin Atlantic Airways (seasonal)	London to Cape Town Airport (CPT)	non-stop (12h00m)

Other Airlines flying from London to Cape Town

Airline	Airports	Stops
Air France UK	London to Cape Town Airport (CPT)	1-stop Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Emirates UK	London to Cape Town Airport (CPT)	1-stop Dubai Airport (DXB)
Etihad Airways	London to Cape Town Airport (CPT)	1-stop Abu Dhabi (AUH)
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines	London to Cape Town Airport (CPT)	1-stop (14h00m) Amsterdam (Schipol Airport )
Lufthansa	London to Cape Town Airport (CPT)	1-stop Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
Iberia suspended its flights to South Africa from 1 May 2012
South African Airways	London to Cape Town Airport (CPT)	1-stop Johannesburg
Qatar Airways	London to Cape Town Airport (CPT)	1-stop Doha Airport (DOH)

A direct flight from London to Cape Town Airport takes about 12 hours.

News & history

January 2013. British Airways now finds Cape Town to be the 3rd most popular destination for business class flights (no doubt this has been boosted by SAA stopping flying the London - Cape Town route last year. CPT was beaten by only Miami and New York. Because of the popularity of the route, it is hoped that BA will use Dreamliner aircraft on it when their planes are delivered in May.

28 Oct 2012 There's been a change in the schedule for British Airways' additional winter service to CPT, BA43 is now scheduled to leave London at 17h35 and arrive in Cape Town at 07h00.

15 Aug 2012 SAA quits direct flights between London and Cape Town. "The Cape Town route from London has been unprofitable for some time and the result of a thorough analysis of the route made it clear that we could use our aircraft more optimally elsewhere. These are challenging times for the airline industry and this decision comes as part of SAA’s long term growth and business strategy.

As an airline that has a key role in the development and support of the economy and tourism across South Africa, SAA will continue to ensure excellent business and tourism links between the Western Cape and the UK with its significant capacity via Johannesburg to 28 destinations within Southern Africa. SAA currently has two daily services between London Heathrow and Johannesburg and will be increasing its capacity on these flights by 13% through use of larger aircraft to accommodate passengers on this route. SAA also offers up to 38 flights daily between Cape Town and Johannesburg". SAA said in an email to its Voyager clients.

1 May 2012 Iberia Airlines suspends its Madrid - Johannesburg flights (cutting off Cape Town in the process)

3 Jun 2009 Air Namibia suspends its flights between London & Windhoek (Namibia).

2 Dec 1999 Virgin Atlantic operates its first flight from London to Cape Town

1963 Ken Chambers & Eric Jackson drive from London to Cape Town in a Ford Cortina in 13 days, 8 hours & 48 minutes.

27 Apr 1932 An Imperial Airways biplane takes off from the London Borough of Croydon with a few passengers, on its way to Cape Town.

20 Jan 1932 A mail-only route is opened by Imperial Airways from London to Cape Town.

9 Dec 1931 The Imperial Airways African service is extended to delivery Christmas mail to Cape Town.

Comparison of flight prices from London to Cape Town

Comparison of flight prices from London. We have now had a range of KLM flights, Air France flights , British Airways flights, Iberia flights and Qatar Airways flights which have had turns being the cheapest from London to Cape Town.

Survey date Outbound flt Return flt	Air France	British Airways	bmi	Emirates	Iberia	KLM Royal Dutch Airlines	LH	Qatar	SAA	Virgin Atlantic
14 Mar 2012 18 May 2012 11 Jun 2012	£762	£739	£835	£748	-	£762	£777	£597	£835	£868

Flight path from London to Cape town

The shortest flight path from London Heathrow to Cape Town International Airport is illustrated. This takes an initial heading of 164° (south) from London Heathrow (51°28'39"N 00°27'41"W) and covers a distance of 9647km before arriving at Cape Town International Airport (33°57'53"S 18°36'06"E).

London to Cape Town flight path

Flights from London to Cape Town via Johannesburg

Johannesburg's OR Tambo Airport is the main airline hub in South Africa, and flights from London to Johannesburg are sometimes more competitively priced than flights from London to Cape Town. It's therefore worthwhile to check the cost of (1) flying from London to Johannesburg, and (2) flying from Johannesburg to Cape Town (there are a number of low cost carrier flying from Johannesburg to Cape Town, as well as bus and train options).

Getting from Cape Town International Airport to Cape Town city

It's easy to get from Cape Town's International Airport to Cape Town's city centre, simply follow the N2 national road out of the airport to the city.

Map centred on Cape Town International Airport

Imperial Air Travel London to Cape Town flights

The first flight from London to Cape Town ended on 20 January 1932, when an Imperial Airways biplane carrying mail landed in Cape Town.

Here's an Imperial Air Travel London to Cape Town flight ad flighted in The Illustrated London News on 2 July 1932, less than a year after Imperial Air Travel started offering their 11 day flight from London to Cape Town. Travelling consisted of flying on a 4-engined Handley Page H.P. 42s, on a train, a Kent Flying Boat & finally on a De Havilland DH66 Hercules.