£161 Find Cheap Flights from South Africa to the United Kingdom

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Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to the United Kingdom

Get data-powered insights and trends for flights to the United Kingdom to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest flight to the United Kingdom?

These are the best return prices found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.

The cheapest ticket to the United Kingdom from South Africa found in the last 72 hours was to London Gatwick Airport, at £139 return. The most popular route is Cape Town (CPT) to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and the cheapest return airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was £139.

How much is a flight to the United Kingdom?

The average and cheapest price for all round-trip flights to the United Kingdom from each origin found by users searching on KAYAK in the last month.

A flight to the United Kingdom costs £481 on average. The cheapest price found on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks was £129 for the route Cape Town (CPT) to London Gatwick Airport (LGW). The most popular routes on KAYAK are Cape Town to London which costs £604 on average, and Johannesburg to London, which costs £621 on average.

See prices from:

What is the cheapest month to fly from South Africa to the United Kingdom?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from South Africa to the United Kingdom, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from South Africa to the United Kingdom is February, when tickets cost £508 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are August and September, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is £681 and £660 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from South Africa to the United Kingdom?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to the United Kingdom, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below-average price on a flight from South Africa to the United Kingdom, you should book around 12 weeks before departure, which saves you about 5% compared to booking last-minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 17 weeks before departure.

Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in the United Kingdom?

Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in the United Kingdom is London Gatwick Airport (LGW), with an average flight price of £155.

Good to know - Cheap tickets from South Africa to the United Kingdom

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight£161
Best time to beat the crowds (5% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly (10% more expensive on average)
Flight from Cape Town to London Gatwick Airport

FAQs for booking flights from South Africa to the United Kingdom

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from South Africa to the United Kingdom?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from South Africa to the United Kingdom.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from South Africa to the United Kingdom?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from South Africa to the United Kingdom is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from South Africa to the United Kingdom?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional return ticket. You could then fly from South Africa to the United Kingdom with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from South Africa to the United Kingdom?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from South Africa to the United Kingdom up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to the United Kingdom?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to the United Kingdom is Monday when return tickets can be as cheap as £604. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Saturday, when return prices are £663 on average.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to the United Kingdom?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to the United Kingdom is generally in the morning, when retur flights cost £487 on average. Morning departures are around 9% cheaper than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to the United Kingdom is generally at night, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is £623.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines flying from South Africa to the United Kingdom

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from South Africa to the United Kingdom? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.1
EmiratesOverall score based on 3393 reviews
8.1Boarding
7.9Food
8.0Comfort
8.3Crew
8.2Entertainment
Airline reviews

Super flight. On time departure and arrival. Very good service. Luggage arrival at DXB was a little delayed but you can’t have everything the very best :)

10.0 ExcellentAli, Oct 2025YYZ - DXB
Read more Emirates reviews

Super flight. On time departure and arrival. Very good service. Luggage arrival at DXB was a little delayed but you can’t have everything the very best :)

Wonderful Premium Economy experience. Felt as good as Business Class for food and entertainment. Comfortable sleeping too

The food options were excellent for Economy. It was difficult to find the lounge after clearing security and boarding was clunky

Crew were excellent and the bar service and chat fantastic. Cheese board delicious. Amenity kit good, very disappointing not getting pyjamas on this leg of the flight and needed to reuse from earlier flight.

Crew were very good. Food service was a little slow and disappointing not having on demand dining and only 3 options. Amenity kits and pyjamas were excellent.

This was my first time flying with Emirates. Overall, the experience was very good. I thought the seats in economy would have been a bit more comfortable, but, they seem to be on par with other airlines. The food was excellent and very satisfying. If you can afford it, I would definitely suggest upgrading to at lest premium economy seats for long haul flights.

Hospitality is good. Should improve on buggage handling because l lost a suitcase. Layover in Dubai was too long , 6 hours

We travelled in economy, were very satisfied with the comfort and keg space of the seats. Food was great compared to other airlines, the crew were very helpful and friendly. Since i was travelling with kids, i needed assistance multiple of times. Will be definitely taking long flights with Emirates from now on.

One of the female staff from the cabin crew, forgot to ask us about what we want to drink and focused more on other specific people rather than treating everyone politely. I asked her about the drinks to which she said oh I forgot.

They should resume the fast track for business / first class passengers

At boarding, the locations where we had to have our passports checked prior to boarding were very unclear. Occasional staff wandered around telling people, but in busy area of the terminal this was not obvious. It was also located well after the check in desk in terms of walking to the gate. The Premium Economy service was attentive and warm. The only big draw back was lack of restrooms, and no division or even curtain between PE and Economy.

Very nice crew and great food. Easy to board just wish the flight could be shorter or seats more comfortable or more room to walk around when you get cramps in your legs from sitting so long. Crew was great and attentive and really was good food.

Everything was fairly easy just hard when you get to Heathrow not know your Gate number until an hour before but otherwise really everything great. Did not get my texts in time though to do me any good but that is why I still like everything the old fashioned way and print everything out.

Everything was smooth and great. I didnt like that they talk so much on the interphone during the flight.

Horrible flight. First delay in boarding of approximately 30 minutes. While in the plane, the flight attendants huddle and we get an announcement that the crew's legal time was exceeded, that they don't have replacement crew and that they will need to cancel the flight. One would think that they would know that their time was to be exceeded BEFORE boarding. Took for ever to deplane. Then we were told that flight would not be cancelled but gave us a departure time of 21.15, which of course was not fulfilled. Arrived in Valencia, luggage took 30 minutes to arrive. Absolutely unacceptable

The return was painful because of the flight that was canceled. Nobody was able to help us out. It took hours and a lot of walking on two different airports to get a new flight

The plan was delayed for takeoff by an hour, but we ended up making the landing on time which was a nice surprise.

Delay more than hour created pressure to catch the connecting flight

The whole experience was positive. Crew very friendly and helpful. Very greedy with pre-seat allocation. Web site too complicated

Each flight we took was late with little or no updates or information.

Great staff great experience, made a 2 hour delay very bearable

Great staff, great experience, made a 2 hour delay very bearable

Food was the worst I’ve had on a VA flight. Normally it’s a lot better

I was my pleasure to fly virgin on my birthday for my first solo trip ever 🫶🏼

These are one of the older seat arrangements facing away from the windows! Not particularly convenient sets. No storage spaces. NO COAT HANGING HOOKS. Inconvenient business class seat compared to any other airlines of similar class. Staff are excellent! Extremely professional, friendly. Food is good too.

Overall, flight was excellent but check in was very slow for Premium Economy. Economy queue was shorter but we weren't allowed to use it.

The staff was not very polite but the flight was very very nice and comfortable and the entertainment was great

Great crew - old style upper class seats on the older fleet now feels dated

Premium economy more comfortable than economy, but not by much. Did was awful, do not try the omelette. Flight crew were helpful. Flight was delayed by over an hour. Overall but bad, arrived safely and thank God.

Food was excellent. Service was very good. Staff was very helpful to all passengers.

Be aware that your carry on is no longer a carryon. They go by the weight not just the size. Because we were forced to check them we missed our connection. Waiting over half hour at the luggage carrosol. Also, this added inconvenience happened because they "kayak" changed our itinerary knowing our connection was almost impossible, they wouldn't make different flights. Will never book the flight through KAYAK. USE the carrier for direct.

I was not expecting to deplane on the tarmac. A shuttle took us to the airport. All communications were in English and German. Staff was very nice.

A bit more space? Not practical, I know. I felt squished in but part of that could have been the man sitting next to me.

The plane was delayed by two hours in Chicago which led to us missing the next flight. Lufthansa rebooked the flight and booked us a hotel for the night in Frankfurt. The level of customer service and getting us taken care of was superb. The flight crew and the service on the ground was superb.

It was good service. The very low economic seats where not comfortable

Excellent once on board. Security staff at Johannesburg rude and aggressive.

This is my second time to fly this year with Lufthansa and both times they dropped the ball. My ticket was very cheap and l would not be honest if l said that l had some high expectations for that price. Fly delay 6 hours. Screen in fey seats around me didn’t work. Food for dinner was ok but breakfast was so poor. We had connection in Frankfurt for Vienna. Because of delay they gave us fly with 30 min layover time. We got to Vienna but our baggage was late of course. Long story short it took us almost 24 hours to get to the final destination. Very bad experience

It was my first experience in business class. It was everything I expected and more. Service was impeccable, food was delicious and I felt rested once I arrived to London

The staff are extremely rude maybe even racist, I’ve never been treated so poorly in my life. I will never fly with Lufthansa Mor Discovery Airlines again.

Waited on tarmac 30 min before take off everything else was fine

Flying on the Boeing 787 from Seattle to London was everything that I expected. Every thing was great.

Seat pitch is not enough to eat comfortably. When seat in front is reclined, your screen comes closer to your face. Ryanair seats are actually more comfortable.

Overall, it was basically good. No serious complaints on my end.

The leg from Portland to Heathrow was great for a business class ticket. The BA leg from Heathrow to Lisbon was terrible. Basically coach seating with an empty seat between you and next passenger. Absolutely no leg room. Should not have been charged for business class and it was a 3 hour flight.

The aircraft was okay and the crew were friendly, but the seat space felt too tight and the food could be better. Overall, nice service but room for improvement.

The flat beds. Other than that, the place was not clean.

It is a wonderful airline. The cabin crews were friendly and the food as well as the service the were excellent.

Good but could be better for comfort and entertainment aspect

Overall it was not a pleasant experience, I was given the middle seat even though I asked for a change they didn’t honor

No WiFi working on either flight. No leg room at all, the seat in front of me left dents in my knees. If I put the tray down, it was so low it was propped up by my knees. (I’m only 182.9 cm) I’m usually cool on planes, but the planes were both hot during taxi and take-off.

Everything you need to know for your flight to the United Kingdom

Cabin class types available on flights to the United Kingdom

Cabin classes available on flights to the United Kingdom. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.

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