AirportsKing Phalo Airport is a large airport serving East London, in Eastern Cape, South Africa. It has scheduled airline flights. Its IATA code, the three letters printed on tickets and baggage tags, is ELS.
Key facts
- IATA code
- ELS
- ICAO code
- FAEL
- City
- East London
- State or region
- Eastern Cape
- Country
- South Africa
- Kind
- Large airport
- Coordinates
- 33.0356° S, 27.8259° E
- Elevation
- 133 m (435 ft)
- Runways
- 2
- Longest runway
- 1,939 m (6,362 ft)
Airport codes
On a ticket or a baggage tag, ELS means King Phalo Airport. Pilots and air traffic controllers use a different, four-letter ICAO code: FAEL. ICAO codes that begin with F belong to central and southern Africa. How the two kinds of code differ.
Where it is
The airport lies at 33.0356° S, 27.8259° E. It stands 133 metres (435 feet) above sea level.
Local time
Time now at the airport: loading
Time zone Africa/Johannesburg, taken from the nearest town in the data. Flight times on tickets are always in the local time of each airport.
Runways
King Phalo Airport has 2 runways in the data. The longest is 1,939 metres (6,362 feet). That suits narrow-body jets and regional aircraft. Among the 22 airports of South Africa on this site with runway data, its longest runway ranks number 15.
| Runway | Length | Width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/29 | 1,939 m 6,362 ft | 46 m | Asphalt | Yes |
| 06/24 | 1,585 m 5,200 ft | 46 m | Asphalt | Yes |
The numbers in a runway name give its compass direction. How runway numbers work.
Nearest airports with scheduled flights
| Airport | Code | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| K. D. Matanzima AirportMthatha | UTT | 184 km |
| Chief Dawid Stuurman International AirportGqeberha (Port Elizabeth) | PLZ | 231 km |
| Margate AirportMargate | MGH | 339 km |
| Moshoeshoe I International AirportMaseru(Mazenod), Lesotho | MSU | 399 km |
| Pietermaritzburg AirportPietermaritzburg | PZB | 449 km |
Distance to major airports
| To | Distance | Rough flying time |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi (DEL)India | 8,595 km | 10 h 50 min |
| Mumbai (BOM)India | 7,514 km | 9 h 35 min |
| Dubai (DXB)United Arab Emirates | 7,107 km | 9 h 05 min |
| London Heathrow (LHR)United Kingdom | 9,795 km | 12 h 20 min |
| New York JFK (JFK)United States | 13,219 km | 16 h 25 min |
| Los Angeles (LAX)United States | 16,896 km | 20 h 50 min |
| Singapore (SIN)Singapore | 8,806 km | 11 h 05 min |
| Tokyo Haneda (HND)Japan | 13,887 km | 17 h 15 min |
| Sydney (SYD)Australia | 10,504 km | 13 h 10 min |
Distances are the shortest path over the globe, worked out from the coordinates. Flying times are rough estimates for a direct jet flight. They do not mean that a direct flight exists. Work out the distance to any airport.
Links
Airport data: OurAirports, as downloaded on 11 November 2026. This page does not show live flights, terminals or airlines. For those, use the airport's or the airline's own site. See About and data sources.