Bram Fischer International Airport

Bram Fischer International Airport
Bram Fischer Internasionale Lughawe (Afrikaans)
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military
OperatorACSA
South African Air Force
LocationBloemfontein, Free State, South Africa
Focus city forCemAir
Elevation AMSL4,457 ft / 1,358 m
Coordinates29°05′38″S 26°18′14″E / 29.09389°S 26.30389°E / -29.09389; 26.30389
Websitesa-airports.co.za/bram-fischer-airport
Map
BFN
Location in the Free State
BFN
BFN (South Africa)
BFN
BFN (Africa)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
02/20 2,563 8,409 Asphalt
12/30 2,194 7,198 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2024 – March 2025)
Passenger traffic387,009
Aircraft movements12,192
Sources:DAFIF[1][2]

Bram Fischer International Airport (IATA: BFN, ICAO: FABL) (Afrikaans: Bram Fischer Internasionale Lughawe) is a primary airport located in Bloemfontein, the capital city of the Free State province of South Africa. The runways are shared with AFB Bloemspruit.

History

The airport was opened in November 1961 and the runways were completed before the terminal buildings so that the South African Airforce could make use of them.[3]

Bloemfontein Airport, like many others in South Africa, underwent R46 million's worth of construction and upgrading of the whole airport in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[4]

In November 2012, the South African government announced that the airport's name was to be changed to Bram Fischer International Airport; the official renaming was performed by Pres. Jacob Zuma on Thursday, 13 December 2012.[5]

Facilities

The main terminal building is used for both international and domestic flights.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Airlink Cape Town, Durban,[6] Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo
CemAir Durban, George, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo[7]
FlySafair Cape Town,[8] Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo

Traffic statistics

Annual (April–March) Aircraft & Passenger Movements[9][10][11][12]
Year Aircraft % Change Passengers % Change
2006–07 no data 305,701 23.8%
2007–08 no data 424,924 39.0%
2008–09 no data 411,683 3.1%
2009–10 no data 399,666 2.9%
2010–11 no data 403,766 1.0%
2011–12 no data 437,996 8.5%
2012–13 17,515 411,655 6.0%
2013–14 14,066 19.7% 382,155 7.2%
2014–15 16,702 18.7% 363,895 4.8%
2015–16 17,359 3.9% 393,471 8.1%
2016–17 17,945 3.4% 395,452 0.5%
2017–18 19,665 9.6% 396,725 0.3%
2018–19 18,618 5.3% 355,052 10.5%
2019–20 17,421 6.4% 357,391 0.7%
2020–21 10,554 39.4% 73,071 79.6%
2021–22 12,420 17.7% 204,692 180.1%
2022–23 13,725 10.5% 318,135 55.4%
2023–24 12,478 9.1% 346,373 8.9%
2024–25 12,192 2.3% 387,009 11.7%

See also

References

  1. ^ FABL aeronautical-chart (PDF)
  2. ^ "Airport information for BFN". DAFIF. October 2006 – via Great Circle Mapper.
  3. ^ "About the Airport". www.airports.co.za. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  4. ^ "shine2010.co.za". www.shine2010.co.za. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  5. ^ "SA: Statement by Free State Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Bloemfontein International Airport renamed Bram Fischer International Airport and Petrus Steyn renamed Mamafubedu (13/11/2012)". Polity.org.za. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Airlink Schedules Durban – Bloemfontein Service From late-Feb 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  7. ^ "CemAir Bloemfontein Destinations".
  8. ^ "New SA route alert: FlySafair launches flights between Bloemfontein and Cape Town".
  9. ^ "ACSA Passenger Statistics". Airports Company South Africa. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  10. ^ BFN Passenger Stats (PDF)
  11. ^ "BFN 25 AS" (PDF).
  12. ^ "BFN 25 PS" (PDF).

Media related to Bram Fischer International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

  • Bloemfontein Airport information - Plane spotting, road transport, airlines...
  • "Current weather for FABL". NOAA/NWS.
  • Accident history for BFN at Aviation Safety Network