Bram Fischer International Airport

Bram Fischer International Airport
*Bram Fischer Internasionale Lughawe* (Afrikaans)
Bram Fischer International Airport; Bram Fischer Internasionale Lughawe (Afrikaans)
	IATA: BFN; ICAO: FABL;
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Operator	ACSA; South African Air Force
Location	Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa
Focus city for	CemAir
Elevation AMSL	4,457 ft / 1,358 m
Coordinates	29°05′38″S 26°18′14″E / 29.09389°S 26.30389°E
Website	www.airports.co.za/airports/bram-fischer-international-airport
Map
	BFN Location in the Free State BFN BFN (South Africa) BFN BFN (Africa)
Runways
Statistics (2023)
Passenger traffic
Passenger traffic	346,373
	Sources:DAFIF

Bram Fischer International Airport (IATA: BFN, ICAO: FABL) (Afrikaans: Bram Fischer Internasionale Lughawe) is a primary airport located in Bloemfontein, the capital city of the Free State province of South Africa. The runways are shared with AFB Bloemspruit.

History

The airport was opened in November 1961 and the runways were completed before the terminal buildings so that the South African Airforce could make use of them.^[3]

Bloemfontein Airport, like many others in South Africa, underwent R46 million's worth of construction and upgrading of the whole airport in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[4]

In November 2012, the South African government announced that the airport's name was to be changed to Bram Fischer International Airport; the official renaming was performed by Pres. Jacob Zuma on Thursday, 13 December 2012.^[5]

Facilities

The main terminal building is used for both international and domestic flights. In 2023, the airport served 346,373 passengers.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Airlink	Cape Town, Durban,^[6] Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo
CemAir	Durban, George, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo^[7]
FlySafair	Cape Town,^[8] Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo

Traffic statistics

Annual passenger traffic at BFN airport. See Wikidata query.

**Annual passenger traffic** ^[9]^[10]
Year	Passengers	% Change
2006	305,701	23.8%
2007	424,924	39.0%
2008	411,683	3.1%
2009	399,666	2.9%
2010	403,766	1.0%
2011	437,996	8.5%
2012	411,655	6.0%
2013	382,155	7.2%
2014	363,895	4.8%
2015	393,471	8.1%
2016	395,452	0.5%
2017	396,725	0.3%
2018	355,052	10.5%
2019	357,391	0.7%
2020	73,071	79.6%
2021	204,692	180.1%
2022	318,135	55.4%
2023	346,373	8.9%

References

^ FABL aeronautical-chart (PDF)
^ Airport information for BFN at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
^ "About the Airport". www.airports.co.za. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
^ "shine2010.co.za". www.shine2010.co.za. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
^ "SA: Statement by Free State Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Bloemfontein International Airport renamed Bram Fischer International Airport and Petrus Steyn renamed Mamafubedu (13/11/2012)". Polity.org.za. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
^ "Airlink Schedules Durban – Bloemfontein Service From late-Feb 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
^ "CemAir Bloemfontein Destinations".
^ "New SA route alert: FlySafair launches flights between Bloemfontein and Cape Town".
^ "ACSA Passenger Statistics". Airports Company South Africa. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
^ BFN Passenger Stats (PDF)

External links

Media related to Bram Fischer International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

Bloemfontein Airport information - Plane spotting, road transport, airlines...
Current weather for FABL at NOAA/NWS
Accident history for BFN at Aviation Safety Network

[FABL_aeronautical_chart-1] FABL aeronautical-chart (PDF)

[GCM-2] Airport information for BFN at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).

[3] "About the Airport". www.airports.co.za. Retrieved 21 January 2025.

[4] "shine2010.co.za". www.shine2010.co.za. Retrieved 24 August 2018.

[Polity.org.za-5] "SA: Statement by Free State Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Bloemfontein International Airport renamed Bram Fischer International Airport and Petrus Steyn renamed Mamafubedu (13/11/2012)". Polity.org.za. Retrieved 8 September 2017.

[6] "Airlink Schedules Durban – Bloemfontein Service From late-Feb 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 4 August 2023.

[7] "CemAir Bloemfontein Destinations".

[8] "New SA route alert: FlySafair launches flights between Bloemfontein and Cape Town".

[Statistics-9] "ACSA Passenger Statistics". Airports Company South Africa. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.

[Stats-10] BFN Passenger Stats (PDF)

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