#1 CLOSEST OPTIONBFN
Bram Fischer International Airport
Serves Bloemfontein · Free State · ICAO FABL
Straight-line distance
182 km
(182.3 km exact)
Passenger flights · check dates
Eastern Cape-30.6937° S, 26.7114° E
Airports near Aliwal North
Set on the southern bank of the Orange River in the northern Eastern Cape along the N6 corridor, Aliwal North has Bram Fischer International Airport (BFN) at 182 km by straight line as the closest airport in our 18-airport passenger comparison—27 km closer to Aliwal North than the second-ranked option.
#1 CLOSEST IN PASSENGER COMPARISON
Bram Fischer International Airport (BFN)
Eastern CapeREVIEWED PASSENGER COMPARISON
Three closest passenger airports to Aliwal North
Ordered by unrounded Haversine distance from the Aliwal North reference coordinate (-30.6937° S, 26.7114° E) and displayed to the nearest integer kilometer.
#2 ALTERNATIVEUTT
K. D. Matanzima Airport
Serves Mthatha · Eastern Cape · ICAO FAUT
Straight-line distance
209 km
(209.4 km exact)
Passenger flights · check dates
#3 ALTERNATIVEELS
King Phalo Airport
Serves East London · Eastern Cape · ICAO FAEL
Straight-line distance
281 km
(280.9 km exact)
Passenger flights · check dates
Choosing an arrival airport for Aliwal North
In TownWing’s 18-airport passenger comparison, Bram Fischer International Airport (BFN) ranks #1 at 182 km by straight line from Aliwal North, making BFN the primary commercial terminal to check first when planning flights and ground transport.
The second and third airports in the comparison—K. D. Matanzima Airport (UTT) at 209 km and King Phalo Airport (ELS) at 281 km—sit 27 km or more farther from Aliwal North than BFN. They are relevant mainly if your trip starts or finishes in another region rather than as direct transfers for Aliwal North alone.
Local geography and road corridors around Aliwal North
Aliwal North developed around thermal mineral springs on the southern bank of the Orange River where the Eastern Cape meets the Free State, serving as an agricultural and overnight transit stop between the central interior and the southern Drakensberg.
For the onward drive between BFN or UTT and Aliwal North, travellers typically use the N6 route north toward Bloemfontein or south toward Queenstown and East London. If your itinerary also covers nearby towns in the region, compare the airport distance profiles for Queenstown, Colesberg, Bloemfontein.
GEOGRAPHIC REFERENCE
Aliwal North, on the map
Distances on this page use one GeoNames reference point for Aliwal North, rather than a wider municipal boundary or your accommodation address.
- Place name
- Aliwal North
- Recorded aliases
- Aliwal-Noord, alywal shmal, bei a li wa er
- Province
- Eastern Cape (ZA-EC)
- GeoNames ID
- 1023309
- Reference coordinates
- -30.6937° S, 26.7114° E
- Terrain elevation (DEM)
- 1,325 m
- Timezone
- Africa/Johannesburg
- Map link
- Open in Google Maps ↗
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Compare related South African cities
Compare straight-line airport access for other South African towns and cities in our dataset.
PROVENANCE & VERIFICATION
Updated & sources
Dataset snapshot: 2026-11-06 · GeoNames record modified: 2026-11-06 · Editorial review: 2026-11-06
- GeoNames record 1023309 — Aliwal North ↗ (snapshot 2026-11-06)
- OurAirports — South Africa airport records ↗ (snapshot 2026-11-06)
- OurAirports — Bram Fischer International Airport (FABL) ↗ (closest passenger comparison airport record)
- Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency (ECPTA) ↗ (regional tourism and destination reference for Eastern Cape)
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5) — Source file ↗