Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport - Portal to a safari experience 

Hoedspruit Airport

There are three airports in Hoedspruit. One is military and the other two are commercial. The original Hoedspruit airport (airfield is more apt) is still used commercially for small planes to safari lodges and other private flights. It is directly behind the Spar supermarket complex in the main town of Hoedspruit.

The Hoedspruit airforce base has one of the longest runways in the world. It was designated as an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttles. Because of available space, a civilian (commercial) facility was constructed as well. Very little of the airforce base, if anything, is visible, as it is mainly situated in underground bunkers, away from the civilian facility. The airport is actually "Hoedspruit Airforce Base" and the civilian facility is called "Eastgate Airport", coded HDS.

Being a CAT5/7 airport, Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport can accommodate any sized aircraft. Its origins stem from an unused portion of the Hoedspruit Airforce Base at the southern end of the airfield which was converted into a civilian airport known as Eastgate Airport in the late 1990s. Eastgate Airport currently operates scheduled flights from Airlink & CemAir from both Johannesburg and Cape Town, as well as private charter flights. In addition to scheduled flights, Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport is ideally suited to the handling of private charter flights. 

Where is Hoedspruit Estagate Airport?

HDS is located about 15km (10m) from Hoedspruit town in the province of Limpopo, South Africa. The airport is conveniently located with close proximity to the Kruger National Park and an abundance of private game reserves in the area such as Timbavati, Thornybush, Kapama, Klaserie, Balule, and Tshukudu. Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport is the most convenient access airport for lodges located in the northern sector of the Sabi Sands.

Some facts about Hoedspruit Airport:

Facilities include a shop, and car rentals, and a restaurant that caters for light meals and is open during office hours. Alcoholic beverages are served. The restaurant will open on request for charter flights. Hoedspruit Airport now offers a foreign exchange office. Major banks, First National Bank and ABSA, are situated in Hoedspruit town.

In addition to scheduled flights by Airlink and CemAir, the following Mpumalanga based Charter companies use Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport:

• Federal Air
• Genair
• Cezzani

The following Johannesburg based Charter companies use Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport:

• Execujet
• SA Historical Flight
• Bataleur
• Genair

The following car rental companies are available:

Avis Car Rental
Europcar
Budget 

Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport services luxury accommodation providers from safari lodges, guest houses, B&B, as well as an expanding range of wildlife estates in the area.

Covid-19 – What you need to know

New Procedures at Eastgate Airport for Covid-19

The following procedures have been Implemented for passengers and staff. Because of the new measures that had to be implemented, it is imperative that passengers arrive at the airport for departure with enough time, so all the relevant checks can be processed, due to these measures processing will take much longer than previously.

Social Distancing to be kept to at all times.

No person will be allowed access without a FACE MASK

Access to Terminal Building

• Only passengers, crew, passenger service staff are allowed in the terminal buildings.
• Meeters and greeters will not be allowed in the terminal buildings.
• Hand sanitiser dispensers have been installed throughout the terminal buildings for your convenience.
• You must always wear a face covering or mask in the terminal building. You won’t be allowed to enter. NO MASK NO ENTRY
• Please follow the instructions of the airport personnel managing queues at check-in, security and the boarding gates if they ask you to maintain distancing.
• To help you maintain social distancing, markers have been placed in the common use and queuing areas throughout the airports.

Screening Procedures

• Passengers should plan to arrive at the airport earlier in to be at the designated check-in counter (domestic travel) 2 hours prior to departure.

We recommend passengers check-in online.

• Health questionnaire needs to be completed at screening point before access to the Buildings will be gained. (This document is obtainable on the web in PDF or Word format for anyone that would like to complete before arriving at the airport).
• The temperature will be screened of all persons that will need access to the airport, this temperature will be entered on the Health Questionnaire and handed in at screening point.
• Any person with a temperature reading of 37.5°C, will be given a cooldown period of 20min, after which the temperature will be taken again. If the temperature remains the same you will not leave the room until safety protocols have been followed. If your temperature has decreased you may proceed to the check-in building to check-in for your flight.

Check-in Procedures

• For your safety and theirs, our check-in agents will be wearing face shields/ cloth masks and sit behind transparent protective screens.

They will ask you some questions about your recent and current health.

• For identification, the traveller will show the check-in agent proof of identification and also asked to lift the face mask to compare the picture of the form of identification to the traveller.

Security Screening Procedures

• At Central screening point, a traveller will need to show a form of Identification as well as the boarding pass for access to the Departure Area.
• For identification, the traveller will show the security agent proof of identification and also asked to lift the face mask to compare the picture of the form of identification to the traveller.
• To prevent unnecessary physical searches all passengers to make sure no items in pockets before going through the search point.
• Liquid and gel security restrictions still apply, so please limit your containers of 70% alcohol-based hand sanitisers to 100ml. Security officials will confiscate any bottles that exceed the limitations.

Boarding Procedures

• Passengers will be required to scan their own boarding pass at unnecessary the boarding gate, present identification and will be requested to remove their face mask to verify their identification.
• Boarding of the aircraft will be as per Airlines procedures.