ELS · East London, South Africa
King Phalo Airport.
--:--:-- · SAST (UTC+02:00) · 33.0356° S, 27.8259° E
King Phalo Airport
Airport
Verification trail
Source-backed facts for ELS
This section separates stable airport identifiers from live operating data. Codes, coordinates, timezone, elevation, source identifiers, and accepted reference links are retained here; live arrivals, departures, gates, delays, NOTAMs, and airline schedule changes must still be checked with the airport or carrier.
Airport catalog
OurAirports ID 2779; ident FAEL; scheduled service listed.
Cached airports.csv snapshot: 2026-04-25; runways.csv snapshot: 2026-05-21.
Official airport source
airports.co.za
Used as the preferred live-reference handoff for terminals, gates, alerts, and airport notices.
Open sourceReference summary
King Phalo Airport
Airport-shaped reference summary from en.wikipedia.org; summary snapshot 2026-05-20.
Open sourceManual / derived signals
16 source-backed signals
Merged from OurAirports cached airports.csv, OurAirports cached runways.csv, Wikidata airport entity snapshot, airport-shaped Wikipedia summary snapshot; facts generated 2026-05-21.
IATA / ICAO
ELS / FAEL
OurAirports ident
FAEL
GPS / local code
FAEL
ISO region
ZA-EC
Scheduled service
Listed in source snapshot
Role
large scheduled-service airport
Official host
airports.co.za
Reference host
en.wikipedia.org
Wikidata entity
Q3496971
Snapshot generated
2026-05-21
Airport lookup keys
Stable codes
Regional keys
Nearby airport codes
Route reference codes
Accepted citation URLs
Last updated May 21, 2026. Stable airport identifiers and timezone facts are content-reviewed; clocks render live in the browser, while weather and time-difference notes are page-snapshot aids rather than permanent airport records.
Live values rendered at Nov 5, 8:20 PM UTC.
What you need to know now
Local airport time
--:--:--SAST · UTC+02:00
Time zone
SAST
Africa/Johannesburg · UTC+02:00
Airfield conditions
Live airport weather is temporarily unavailable.
Surface access
8.3 km
Approximate distance to central East London.
Airport Snapshot
Country capital
Pretoria
Languages
Afrikaans, English
Currency
ZAR (R)
Country area
1,221,037 km²
Passenger volume
Source note unavailable
Terminals
Not clearly stated
Runways
2 runways
Longest runway
6,362 ft / 1,939 m
Runway surface
asphalt (2)
Opened / operator
Airports Company South Africa
Owner / entity
Q3496971
Hub airlines
Mixed or not clearly stated
Airport role
large scheduled-service airport
Scheduled service
Listed
Fact coverage
16 source-backed signals
King Phalo Airport is a large scheduled-service airport for East London, South Africa. East London's built-up core sits roughly 8.3 km from the terminal area. Operations run on Africa/Johannesburg (UTC+02:00, SAST). Live weather is temporarily unavailable. With 3 other indexable airports in its surrounding network, it works well as a reference point for regional flight planning and timezone checks.
King Phalo Airport (ELS / FAEL) is at 33.0356° S, 27.8259° E, elevation 435 ft (133 m), serving East London, South Africa.
The accepted reference summary is used as supporting context for the airport identity and operating notes; the timed facts here still come from the airport catalog, timezone database, country snapshot, and linked source trail.
East London is in South Africa (capital Pretoria); regulated by South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA); on Africa/Johannesburg (SAST, UTC+02:00); working languages: Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele; currency: ZAR (R).
Distance from central East London: 8 km.
Airport context brief
A compact traveler-facing brief from the airport catalog, country snapshot, route geometry, city anchors, peer airports, and source trail for ELS.
Name and identity cues
Primary airport name
King Phalo Airport (ELS / FAEL)
King Phalo Airport · Airport
Source identifiers
FAEL · FAEL · ZA-EC
airports.co.za · en.wikipedia.org · scheduled service yes
Closest mapped city anchors
1. East London
east-london · 8.3 km from ELS
South Africa · Africa/Johannesburg · +0h · population 478,676 · city coordinates -33.0153, 27.9116
2. Mdantsane
mdantsane · 12 km from ELS
South Africa · Africa/Johannesburg · +0h · population 205,504 · city coordinates -32.9332, 27.7766
3. Gonubie
gonubie · 20 km from ELS
South Africa · Africa/Johannesburg · +0h · population 23,733 · city coordinates -32.9443, 28.0150
4. Ndevana
ndevana · 33 km from ELS
South Africa · Africa/Johannesburg · +0h · population 18,151 · city coordinates -32.9077, 27.5097
5. Bhisho
bhisho · 41 km from ELS
South Africa · Africa/Johannesburg · +0h · population 137,287 · city coordinates -32.8472, 27.4422
6. Qonce
qonce · 44 km from ELS
South Africa · Africa/Johannesburg · +0h · population 93,072 · city coordinates -32.8808, 27.3938
Airport alternatives in the retained graph
1. PLZ FAPE
Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport · Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
231 km from ELS · Africa/Johannesburg · +0h · elevation 226 ft (69 m) · airport coordinates -33.9897, 25.6174
2. BFN FABL
Bram Fischer International Airport · Bloemfontein
462 km from ELS · Africa/Johannesburg · +0h · elevation 4,457 ft (1,358 m) · airport coordinates -29.0927, 26.3024
3. DUR FALE
King Shaka International Airport · Durban
492 km from ELS · Africa/Johannesburg · +0h · elevation 295 ft (90 m) · airport coordinates -29.6144, 31.1197
Route-time reference set
1. ELS-PLZ
Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) · 231 km · 1h 8m
Africa/Johannesburg · +0h from ELS; reference route only, not a live schedule.
2. ELS-BFN
Bloemfontein · 462 km · 1h 25m
Africa/Johannesburg · +0h from ELS; reference route only, not a live schedule.
3. ELS-DUR
Durban · 492 km · 1h 27m
Africa/Johannesburg · +0h from ELS; reference route only, not a live schedule.
Runway source evidence
Published runway count
2 runways
Longest runway 6,362 ft / 1,939 m. 2 lighted runways in the runway snapshot.
Runway surface mix
asphalt (2)
Surface labels are normalized from the OurAirports runway rows for ELS.
Runway identifiers
06/24 · 11/29
Identifier pairs are retained as airport-specific runway cues, not live operational availability claims.
Same-country airport context
1. PLZ FAPE
Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport · Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) · 231 km from ELS
large airport · Africa/Johannesburg · south-africa · 226 ft (69 m) · -33.9897, 25.6174
2. BFN FABL
Bram Fischer International Airport · Bloemfontein · 462 km from ELS
large airport · Africa/Johannesburg · south-africa · 4,457 ft (1,358 m) · -29.0927, 26.3024
3. DUR FALE
King Shaka International Airport · Durban · 492 km from ELS
large airport · Africa/Johannesburg · south-africa · 295 ft (90 m) · -29.6144, 31.1197
4. JNB FAOR
O.R. Tambo International Airport · Johannesburg · 768 km from ELS
large airport · Africa/Johannesburg · south-africa · 5,558 ft (1,694 m) · -26.1401, 28.2468
5. HLA FALA
Lanseria International Airport · Johannesburg · 789 km from ELS
large airport · Africa/Johannesburg · south-africa · 4,517 ft (1,377 m) · -25.9390, 27.9266
6. CPT FACT
Cape Town International Airport · Cape Town · 861 km from ELS
large airport · Africa/Johannesburg · south-africa · 151 ft (46 m) · -33.9740, 18.6043
Country and authority
ELS sits in South Africa (Republic of South Africa), whose capital is Pretoria. South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) is the national civil-aviation authority we name for regulator context. Country context: Africa, Southern Africa.
Traveler context
Common country-language signals: Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho. Currency context: ZAR (R). ELS is listed with scheduled service in the airport source snapshot.
Reference description
Airport. This description is used only as identity context; live flight status, terminal assignment, and airport alerts still belong to the official airport or airline source.
Entity fingerprint
Wikidata airport entity: Q3496971 · East London Airport. Administrative area: Eastern Cape. Named after: East London. Entity official-site cross-check: airports.co.za
Field and clock profile
King Phalo Airport is a low-elevation field at 435 ft (133 m), positioned at 33.0356° S, 27.8259° E in the Southern subtropics. The runway snapshot lists 2 runways and a longest runway of 6,362 ft / 1,939 m. The airport clock uses Africa/Johannesburg (SAST, UTC+02:00), so cross-date arrivals should be checked against this zone rather than the airline origin city.
City and airport alternatives
East London is the closest retained city-time anchor at 8.3 km. PLZ Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) is the closest retained airport alternative at 231 km.
Country airport peers
ELS is compared with PLZ Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) at 231 km, BFN Bloemfontein at 462 km, DUR Durban at 492 km, JNB Johannesburg at 768 km, HLA Johannesburg at 789 km inside the retained South Africa airport set, which is useful when backup airports share the same country context but differ by city, route network, and clock behavior.
Route geometry
ELS-PLZ Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth): 231 km, about 1h 8m, +0h. ELS-BFN Bloemfontein: 462 km, about 1h 25m, +0h. ELS-DUR Durban: 492 km, about 1h 27m, +0h. These are distance and timezone references, not live flight availability claims.
Source trail
OurAirports ident FAEL backs the stable code, coordinate, elevation, and timezone record. airports.co.za is attached as the official airport website. en.wikipedia.org is used only as supporting reference context. Snapshot date: 2026-05-21.
Operational Profile
Traffic profile
Reference airport
Airline role
Mixed commercial service
Terminal footprint
See operational notes
Runway footprint
2 runways · longest 6,362 ft / 1,939 m
Runway identifiers
06/24, 11/29
OurAirports classifies ELS as a large airport with scheduled service, which gives it stronger planning value than a code-only lookup.
ELS (FAEL) is a low-elevation field at 435 ft (133 m) in the subtropics, kept in the curated set for its route, timezone, and market-planning value.
ELS sits in a broader regional network with 3 nearby curated alternatives, so airline choice and connection strategy are part of the planning story here.
ELS's runway record lists 2 runways, with the longest runway at 6,362 ft / 1,939 m and source surfaces recorded as asphalt (2).
Airports Company South Africa is the clearest operator or management signal we currently have on file for ELS.
These operational notes prefer the structured airport facts snapshot, then fall back to the accepted airport reference at airports.co.za, then blend that with local timezone, route, and city-access data already on this page.
Decision matrix for ELS
These are the specific situations where this airport page earns its keep: time-zone conversion, city transfer planning, nearby airport backup logic, and source-confidence checks before acting.
When the clock matters
ELS uses Africa/Johannesburg (SAST, UTC+02:00). Use this before overnight arrivals, cross-date departures, and same-day connections.
When surface access matters
King Phalo Airport is about 8.3 km from central East London; build that transfer into arrival and check-in planning.
When alternates matter
PLZ Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) is the closest retained alternate at 231 km, time difference +0h.
When source checks matter
airports.co.za is listed as the official airport website in the airport facts snapshot; live schedules, gates, routes, terminals, and NOTAM-sensitive operations still need official airport or airline verification.
How this airport compares nearby
These comparisons place ELS inside the retained airport graph by country, timezone, elevation, and coordinate neighbors. They are deterministic dataset facts, not generated flight claims.
Country-rank position
ELS ranks #4 in the curated South Africa airport set when large airports are listed before medium airports, then sorted by IATA code. The retained country set has 8 airports.
Same-zone airport cohort
ELS shares Africa/Johannesburg with BFN Bloemfontein ZA · CPT Cape Town ZA · DUR Durban ZA · HLA Johannesburg ZA · JNB Johannesburg ZA · PLZ Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) ZA. This helps separate same-clock airports by city, country, code, and geography.
Elevation-neighbor cohort
ELS is 435 ft (133 m). Closest elevation peers in the retained airport set include RDU 435 ft (133 m) (0 ft delta) · BTS 436 ft (133 m) (1 ft delta) · MEL 434 ft (132 m) (1 ft delta) · SEA 433 ft (132 m) (2 ft delta) · CIA 427 ft (130 m) (8 ft delta).
Coordinate-neighbor check
ELS's nearest retained coordinate neighbors are PLZ 231 km +0h · BFN 462 km +0h · DUR 492 km +0h.
Flight Path Arc
Great-circle route between airports with animated plane. Pick a route.
Arriving From / Departing To
| Destination | Route code | Distance | Estimated window | Time difference | Destination clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) | PLZ | 231 km | 1h 8m | +0h | --:--:-- |
| Bloemfontein | BFN | 462 km | 1h 25m | +0h | --:--:-- |
| Durban | DUR | 492 km | 1h 27m | +0h | --:--:-- |
ELS to PLZ
Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
Distance 231 km; estimated travel window 1h 8m; destination zone Africa/Johannesburg is +0h from ELS. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
ELS to BFN
Bloemfontein
Distance 462 km; estimated travel window 1h 25m; destination zone Africa/Johannesburg is +0h from ELS. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
ELS to DUR
Durban
Distance 492 km; estimated travel window 1h 27m; destination zone Africa/Johannesburg is +0h from ELS. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
Airport Details
Timezone
Ground Transport and Nearby Context
Central East London is close enough that taxi, ride-hail, and rail or shuttle links are usually the fastest arrival options.
East London is the nearest mapped city anchor in the current dataset, which makes it the cleanest companion page when travelers want to switch from airport timing into local city timing.
King Phalo Airport has 3 nearby indexed airport alternatives, which makes backup departures and diversion logic part of real planning instead of a theoretical edge case.
Nearby city time anchors
Airport pages are most useful when they bridge into real city clocks. These city anchors are ranked by distance from ELS, then shown with their own timezone, local time, and time difference from the airport clock.
East London
east-london · 8.3 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Mdantsane
mdantsane · 12 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Gonubie
gonubie · 20 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Ndevana
ndevana · 33 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Bhisho
bhisho · 41 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Qonce
qonce · 44 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Dimbaza
dimbaza · 61 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Stutterheim
stutterheim · 64 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Butterworth
butterworth · 84 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Alice
alice · 97 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Port Alfred
port-alfred · 107 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Fort Beaufort
fort-beaufort · 115 km · Africa/Johannesburg
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Airlines and Network Role
King Phalo Airport does not have a long carrier list in the current source trail, so this page emphasizes the durable pieces travelers can safely use here: local time, field identifiers, nearby airports, and timezone differences.
The route timing references show the first cross-timezone planning burden after this airport: Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) (PLZ), Bloemfontein (BFN), Durban (DUR). Treat them as distance and clock cues, then verify flight availability with the carrier.
Planning checkpoints
- Traffic signal: not clearly stated in the source trail.
- Terminal footprint: not clearly stated in the source trail.
- Runway footprint: 2 runways; longest runway 6,362 ft / 1,939 m; identifiers 06/24, 11/29.
- Runway surfaces: asphalt (2); 2 lighted runways in the source snapshot.
- Operator / management: Airports Company South Africa.
- Historical opening year: not clearly stated in the source trail.
- Network role: mixed or not clearly stated in the source trail.
Nearby Airports
Nearby airports are ranked by coordinate distance from ELS. The time difference column is computed from IANA zones against the page snapshot, while the local clocks update in the browser.
Chief Dawid Stuurman International AirportPLZ
Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) · large airport
- Distance
- 231 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 226 ft (69 m)
Compare against PLZ when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Bram Fischer International AirportBFN
Bloemfontein · large airport
- Distance
- 462 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 4,457 ft (1,358 m)
Compare against BFN when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
King Shaka International AirportDUR
Durban · large airport
- Distance
- 492 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 295 ft (90 m)
Compare against DUR when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Questions
FAQ
What timezone is King Phalo Airport (ELS) in?▾
King Phalo Airport is in the Africa/Johannesburg timezone (UTC+02:00, SAST).
What are the codes for King Phalo Airport?▾
King Phalo Airport uses IATA code ELS and ICAO code FAEL.
Where is King Phalo Airport located?▾
King Phalo Airport is located in East London, South Africa at coordinates 33.0356° S, 27.8259° E, with an elevation of 435 ft (133 m) (low-elevation field in the subtropics).
How far is King Phalo Airport from central East London?▾
King Phalo Airport sits roughly 8.3 km from the nearest mapped city center for East London.
Which route reference is most useful from ELS?▾
Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) (PLZ) is one of the closest route references on this page, with an estimated travel window of 1h 8m, destination timezone Africa/Johannesburg, and a +0h difference from ELS.
Which authority regulates ELS?▾
King Phalo Airport sits inside South Africa, where civil aviation oversight is led by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).
What other airports in South Africa are close peers to ELS?▾
ELS's curated peers in South Africa on this site include PLZ Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), BFN Bloemfontein, DUR Durban, plus 3 more.
How many runways does King Phalo Airport have?▾
King Phalo Airport's source-backed operational summary lists 2 runways, with the longest runway recorded at 6,362 ft / 1,939 m; identifiers include 06/24, 11/29.