We fly general cargo, spare parts, personal effects, excess baggage and time-critical freight from the United Kingdom to Cape Town (CPT) in South Africa, with consolidated and direct services out of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands and an airport-to-airport transit of 3–5 days.
Pricing guide
Air Freight Rates to Cape Town
Airport to airport · transit 3–5 days
| Cargo under 100 kgChargeable weight, airport to airport | £6 per 100 kg (min charge £184) |
| Cargo 100 kg – 300 kgConsolidated weekly departures | £4.84 per kg |
| Cargo 300 kg – 1,000 kgDirect airline allocation | £4.10 per kg |
| Cargo over 1,000 kg / full ULDContract rate on application | £3.36 per kg |
| Airline handling & securityTerminal, screening and AWB fees | £85 – £140 per shipment |
| Fuel & carrier surchargeReviewed monthly by the airline | £0.98 per kg |
| UK export customs entryAdditional lines £8 each | £45 per entry |
| UK collectionNationwide door collection | from £65 |
Indicative rates only, excluding VAT where applicable. Final pricing depends on dimensions, weight, sailing schedule and destination charges.
Cape Town is one of our principal air gateways into South Africa, along with OR Tambo (JNB) and Durban (DUR), a country served by 407 registered airports and airfields in total. We book directly with the carriers flying the route rather than through a third-party consolidator, so the airline reference, the cut-off and the chargeable weight are confirmed to you at the point of booking.
Chargeable weight is calculated on the IATA volumetric divisor of 6,000 — length x width x height in centimetres divided by 6,000 — and the airline charges whichever is greater, actual or volumetric. Cargo for Cape Town is re-weighed and re-measured at our East Tilbury facility before departure, and if the figures differ from your booking we tell you immediately so you can repack rather than absorb the uplift.
We handle screening, the air waybill, the UK export customs entry, dangerous goods declarations under IATA DGR where they apply, and lithium battery documentation, which airlines into South Africa check closely. Perishables and pharmaceuticals can be booked on temperature-controlled solutions with airline monitoring for the whole flight.
For urgent freight we offer next-flight-out and on-board courier options into Cape Town, and for repeat traffic a standing weekly booking with fixed cut-off times. Quotes are given airport to airport as standard, but most customers take a door-to-door price covering UK collection, handling, freight, arrival handling at Cape Town, import clearance and final delivery.
The air cargo we fly into Cape Town splits into personal and commercial traffic. On the personal side we handle unaccompanied baggage, excess luggage, student shipments and household air freight — clothing, bedding, kitchenware, books and small furniture. On the commercial side we fly general palletised freight, machinery and vehicle spares, electronics, textiles, cosmetics, medical and pharmaceutical consignments, exhibition freight, perishables and AOG aircraft parts. Each is packed, screened and documented differently, and the quotation reflects that.
Airline liability under the Montreal Convention is limited to roughly 22 SDR per kilo, which is rarely close to the real value of commercial cargo. Our all-risk air cargo policy covers the consignment warehouse to warehouse at 1.5% of declared value and is arranged before the goods leave the UK. Where the shipment is too heavy or too bulky to fly economically, we will price sea freight to Durban alongside it.
Typical routing is collection from any UK address, screening and build-up at our facility, uplift from the best-connected UK airport on the next available flight, arrival at Cape Town, import clearance and delivery. Written quotations are issued within one working hour.
Flying cargo to Cape Town
Quote & booking
Rates, sailing or flight options confirmed in writing.
UK collection
Nationwide collection or delivery into our Tilbury depot.
Loading & packing
Lashing, crating, palletising and photographic record.
Customs & export
Export entry, NES clearance and documentation released.
Transit & delivery
Tracking updates until the cargo lands with your consignee.
Cargo we fly into Cape Town
- General palletised freight and commercial consignments
- Excess baggage, personal effects and student shipments
- Aircraft on ground (AOG) and time-critical spares
- Pharmaceuticals and temperature-controlled cargo
- IATA dangerous goods with certified packing
- High-value electronics and machinery parts