Africa · South Africa

Handling at Johannesburg (FAOR)

We handle overflight permits, slots, flight plans, fuel, customs and the turnaround at Johannesburg O. R. Tambo. One coordinator owns the stop at Johannesburg, from the first filing to wheels up.

AERODROME

--:-- local

ICAO: FAOR
IATA: JNB
Elevation: 5,558 ft
Position: -26.140, 28.247

RUNWAYS

03L/21R4,418 m / 14,495 ftAsphalt
03R/21L3,400 m / 11,155 ftAsphalt

Reference only, not for flight planning. Lengths are full declared runway length rather than declared distances, and this page is not amended on the AIRAC cycle. Check the current AIP and NOTAMs, or ask the desk and we will check them for you.

The field

What FAOR is actually like

O. R. Tambo is Africa's largest airport and the continent's main long-haul gateway. It sits at high elevation on the Highveld, which makes aircraft performance a real planning input rather than a formality.

Operating brief

What we handle before you file

Permits

South Africa's SACAA handles foreign operator authority, and the process is well established. Regional permits for onward legs into neighbouring countries are usually the longer lead item.

Slots and parking

Coordinated but rarely constrained for business aviation. The elevation is the more consequential planning factor: takeoff performance on a hot day is a genuine limit on payload and range.

Customs and border

South African entry is applied carefully, and the documentation rules for minors travelling are specific and strictly enforced. That last one strands more family trips than anything else at this field.

When it gets tight

November through February, plus the mining and investment conference season. Afternoon thunderstorms on the Highveld are the real schedule risk in summer, and they arrive most days rather than occasionally.

On the ground

Off the aircraft and into the car

Thirty minutes to Sandton on the highway, which is where most business trips are going. Lanseria is closer to the northern suburbs and usually the better answer. Handling at O. R. Tambo is professional and the facilities are the best on the continent.

Alternates

Where we go when FAOR will not take the trip

Every one of these is a field we would put to you with the reason attached, not a list of nearby runways.

FALA
Lanseria
Johannesburg's dedicated business aviation airport, north west of the city, and usually the better answer on the ground.
FACT
Cape Town
The other major South African gateway, at sea level, with full international facilities.
FAGC
Grand Central
General aviation, in the northern suburbs, and limited to smaller aircraft.

What we handle here