£229 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 into 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 £356 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 £356.

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 £728 on average. The cheapest price found on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks was £273 for the route Cape Town (CPT) to London Gatwick Airport (LGW). The most popular routes on KAYAK are Cape Town to London which costs £867 on average, and Johannesburg to London, which costs £819 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 October, when tickets cost £514 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and August, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is £663 and £655 respectively.

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

The average price for all round-trip flights from South Africa to the United Kingdom depending on the time of departure, clicked by users on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

The cheapest time of day to fly to the United Kingdom is generally in the evening, when retur flights cost £500 on average. Morning departures are around 100% 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 £619.

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 5 weeks before departure, which saves you about 4% 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 Heathrow Airport (LHR), with an average flight price of £616.

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

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight£229
Best time to beat the crowds (10% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly (5% more expensive on average)
Flight from Johannesburg 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 Tuesday when return tickets can be as cheap as £611. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Saturday, when return prices are £645 on average.

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 3568 reviews
8.1Boarding
8.3Crew
8.2Entertainment
8.0Comfort
7.9Food
Airline reviews

Very bad service and food variety will never come back again

2.0 MediocreAmbrose, Apr 2026
DXB - LGW
Read more Emirates reviews

Very bad service and food variety will never come back again

Everything was perfect. Staff were informative and professional and flight boarding, flying and de-embarking was smooth. I would certainly travel with Emirates again.

My baby was with me it was really good experience with emirates

Fantastic as ever. Great staff super catering and excellent service.

Flight and entertainment great. Food needs to be improved, only one choice on the menu. Staff worked well throughout.

This777-300 is configured 2/3/2 for Biz class straight out of the 80s!!! Not to mention seats are narrow, bed does NOT FULLY RECLINE FLAT as advertised, and purser didn’t know that!! ARM REST HAS A REMOTE TABLET ON IT FURTHER CONFINING THE ALREADY NARROW SPACE!!! WHO thought this was a good design?? After flying the new A350-900 biz class Montreal to Dubai , this was a total let down!!

I liked the newer aircraft CRJ-550 since it had WIFI and the seats are more spacious.

The plane was old so the entertainment system was difficult to operate. The crew did advise earlier. The plane was landed and parked away from the gates, which added 20+ mins to the overall arrival

There is an issue with A380 when it arrives in Munich, because a business class passengers like me have to wait for the first class passengers to disembark, which takes some time while you are also offloading economy passengers this causes an issue at customs where your business class passengers end up behind a large bulk of economy passengers This is a frustration and the early dislocation should be and is supposed to be a benefit of business class

Premium economy was worth it-comfort was definitely better than economy class. The seats were more comfortable, blankets and pillows thicker

As per usual when you Hit the UK it's a slow process through customs Not as efficient at Thailand for sure

It was really nice journey i personally recommend klm flight

The crew were unprofessional with a racist element. I was physically abused as well from one of the crew members

Empty seats next to me - wish it had been for a longer flight!!

Flight was on time, staff are friendly and helpful onboard.

Flight was ok but lack of communication cost me to literally beg to be put on another flight as connecting flight had departed

They forgot to serve food and the crew was very unfriendly. Never experienced such a bad KLM flight. Usually fly from Toronto. New York was different.

Couldn’t get boarding pass in SLC even with help from a redcoat, so had to find a desk in AMS to get boarding pass. Technical problems so not sure why. Very inconvenient. The KLM app is not as user friendly as most apps. Also had to wait almost an hour on the tarmac for a fuel truck, which caused us to miss a connecting bus in LUX.

The immigration hall in Amsterdam was understaffed, so passport checking was slower than it should be for a major airport. They need to get the automatic readers up and running for non EU passport holders. Waiting in line after a long flight feels a bit abusive.

Ad experience - been flying many years with them but they are losing out to other carriers with their service and bagage / seating policy. My 2 12-yo kids were not placed with the parent. Absurdity.

Seating and zone. The minor I went with didn’t even seat close to me

My seat 3G did not go down fully and the buttons were not working properly

Food has been disappointing in both legs of flight to india

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

Flights were delayed and due to a checked hand luggage bag by an overzealous gate agent in Berlin I missed my ground connection costing me another £80. Food was cold and bland, I honestly expect better from a national carrier operating out of one of their major hubs.

We would have missed our connection from Munich to Boston but we had a van outside the plan that wisked us to our terminal. Much appreciated and we didn’t even realize that Lufthansa had done this until the announcement on disembarkation. Well organized airline! Will definitely fly Lufthansa again!!!

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

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

Boarding was orderly, pilot and flight attendants were nice, entertainment options were good, and low sodium meals were quite tasty.

The whole experience was excellent, O can say out from Miami the best airline to travel with for any European destination. Since the ground staff to the inflight crew attention was great, service on board 10 of 10. Finally the 380 is very confortable and nice to travel.

Cramped seating but standard in all smaller aircrafts today no matter what airlines. Crew very helpful, friendly & attentive so makes up for that.

All crew except 1 were excellent. When I asked assistance with business class seat conversion to a bed (not being familiar as never used before but have numerous times with other airlines) crew member helped very reluctantly. I should have told her that business class seat conversion is totally different in each airline such as Delta, New Zealand Air and United. Sorry it was my 1st time with America Airlines. Now I know, I won't bother asking assistance in future.

I had a mixed experience on this flight. The plane itself was comfortable, the flight was smooth, and the entertainment selection was excellent with plenty of movie options. However, the service fell short. I had an entire row to myself and fell asleep with a blanket over me. A flight attendant, Karleigh, woke me up to see if I had my seatbelt on, which felt unnecessary given the situation. Meanwhile, trash sat uncollected on the tray at the end of the row and was never picked up. During the second meal service, no one woke me up, and when I used the call button multiple times, there was no response. I eventually had to walk to the back to ask for assistance. There was also a long stretch without snacks, and when I requested something savory, I was dropped off sweet options, which wasn’t ideal. Overall, while the flight itself was comfortable, the lack of attentiveness and responsiveness from the crew made the experience disappointing.

The seats in Premier Economy were very comfortable. The food was better than average. The way British Airways handled our seating was atrocious.

The flight attendant does not pay attention to my "call" button more than 3 times when I need a drink.

Flight delayed, connection was not at gate listed and so missed, staff were rude at Heathrow, phone tree stupid and difficult, took me 21 actual hours to reach my destination. Almost lost my hotel reservation after walking in a strange city alone after midnight because they would not put me up in a hotel at sfo or heathrow. I will never fly BA again and will tell all people and Instagram followers never to fly BA.

British Airays fails to enforce its own guidelines regarding carry on size limits. There were MANY passengers with full suitcases stuffing them into the overhead compartments leaving no space for others, like me, who adhere to the posted sizes. I had to put my carryone bag into my foot space, in additon to my carryon personal item, leaving me cramped for a seven hour flight. I was in physical pain, and I attribute this entirely to staff unwilling to enforce limits. The infotainment system was horrible. the touchscreens did dot work correctly, and there was no information on system operation. I am 77 years old, and a lifelong movie-goer. I recognized ONE movie (and not much better TV shows). It seems that BA saves royalty money by limiting its move and TV selection to absolute rubbish. The FlightAware program is the worst informationsystm I have ever seen, it is completely worthless. I pay attention to the safety briefings...in the event of an emergency, one is supposed to assume the "brace" position, except the seats are so close together, front to back, that it is not possible to assume the position without striking the seat in front of you. at age 77, and a lifelong traveler, this is the worst flight experience I have ever had, and I will never fly British Airways again

Overall ok. Best part has always been the sundae dessert.

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.