Rand Airport - Heritage Takes Flight

The Rand Airport was officially opened as Joburg’s main airport in December 1931 and was immediately acknowledged by The Times as one of the British Empire’s most modern and best equipped airports. The Terminal building is a masterpiece of streamlined modern design with hovering cantilevers and supporting columns evoking an aircraft undercarriage.

Back then, airline passengers leaving London on a Wednesday arrived at Germiston on the Thursday afternoon of the following week – Johannesburg was now a mere 8 days away from the centre of Empire!

80 years later, Johannesburg has developed into a regional aviation hub, and the main airport with its frenetic pace has decamped - first to Palmietfontein and then to the less evocative buildings of OR Tambo in Kempton Park. But Rand Airport still performs an important role in the charter aviation industry, and its buildings – featuring startlingly white cubist and rounded forms – remain a delight to behold.

So join your guide, David Gurney, for a delightful tour that explores the history of flight on the Rand, and the remarkable complex of buildings that comprises the Rand Airport.

Please bring drinking water and wear comfortable walking shoes, a hat and sunblock.