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R5 096 Find cheap flights to the United Arab Emirates

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from South Africa to the United Arab Emirates departing on 11/9. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
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Sun 1/9

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Best United Arab Emirates Flight Deals

Cheapest return prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

Dubai
Dubai1 stopR8 241

Good to know

Low season

May

High season

December

Cheapest flight

R5 096
Best time to beat the crowds (10% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly (12% more expensive on average)
Flight from OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg to Dubai

FAQs - booking United Arab Emirates flights

  • How long is the flight to the United Arab Emirates?

    An average direct flight from South Africa to the United Arab Emirates takes 10h 16m, covering a distance of 10878 km. The most popular route is Johannesburg - Dubai with an average flight time of 7h 55m.

  • What is the cheapest flight to the United Arab Emirates?

    The cheapest ticket to the United Arab Emirates from South Africa found in the last 72 hours was R3 962 one-way, and R8 241 round-trip. The most popular route is Johannesburg OR Tambo to Dubai Intl and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was R8 241.

  • Which airlines fly to the United Arab Emirates?

    Emirates, South African & Etihad Airways fly the most frequently from South Africa to the United Arab Emirates.

  • What are the most popular destinations in the United Arab Emirates?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Dubai (92% of total searches to the United Arab Emirates). The next most popular destinations are Sharjah (5%) and Abu Dhabi (3%).

  • How does KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a given destination and date is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to the United Arab Emirates

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest United Arab Emirates flight deals.

Top 5 airlines flying to the United Arab Emirates

Need help choosing which airline to fly with from South Africa to the United Arab Emirates? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8,1
EmiratesOverall score based on 3754 reviews
8,1Boarding
8,3Crew
8,0Comfort
8,3Entertainment
7,9Food
Airline reviews

It was economy plus. That is all. I literally felt like traveling in economy class with a little extra leg room. Poor food. V restricted options. Worst of all POOR CREW ATTITUDE.

4,0 OkayBalaji, Jul 2024MAA - DXB
Read more about Emirates reviews

It was economy plus. That is all. I literally felt like traveling in economy class with a little extra leg room. Poor food. V restricted options. Worst of all POOR CREW ATTITUDE.

We did not fly and our agent has been uncilling and uncooperative to help us rebook flight. We will never use Kayak ever again to book our flights, and we will let our network of friends know that using Kayak is equal to losing $$$$$.

The experience of the flight. The food options have definitely gone down

More than two hours delay I could not do my tax refund because of the delay to check in They lost my luggage

The food was pretty good and the crew were excellent. It would have been excellent all round but for screaming children. Six hours at least of a 10 hr flight. Mostly 1 child clearly on the spectrum and probably ADHD but I really felt for the parents and grandparents who were obviously struggling and doing the best they could under the circumstances. No reflection on the airline of course and we all need to be more tolerant with these challenges . Slept for 15 hrs when I got home.

The boarding experience was worst ever. Single aerobridge used for boarding and deboarding which led to lot of chaos. Food options were not great. First flight delayed by more than 3 hours which led to missing of the next flight we were stuck at Dubai airport by more than 6 hours

Surprised how empty comfortable seats in economy were not offered by crew to tall passengers. Felt like courtesy hall mark of emirates is changing. We were told in order to get those seats we have to pay $210. Not the emirates I know from past travels.

I am vegan. The food was balanced, tasty and enough. I enjoyed the ride. The crew was very friendly and went out of their way to please the passengers.

Boarding in the bus was slow and extremely hot. The flight attendant in the area of row 21 was extremely rude and had the attitude of not wanting to be at work for the day. Emirates you can do better than this

Food service must be faster and make vegetarian food in good quality

Flight delayed by 3 hours 45 mins and no explanation given or apology. Rebooked on a flight departing to final destination 48 hrs later and baggage not delivered.

My outbound flight was grounded in Lusaka so we never made it to Paris. DO NOT fly this airline you will be stranded and your plans will be completely disrupted

Inflight entertainment with electronic charging stations can help during a long flight.

The flight was delayed with no notice. No inflight entertainment. Communication is vital in any business.

Poor communication: Flight come directly to kigali , didn’t come via mumbasa. Favouring to Rwandan passenger to move from economic to bussiness class after flight depart. Where they don’t asked other older passenger who need more comfort. Rude staff : chekin airport at Mumbai. Talking in local language (marathi) while serving and no sorry no thank you attitude.

Pros: "Seat reclining was good. Fleece blankets were warm"
Cons: "Blankets had a really bad smell Food options were very limited - even bread was eggless"
Pros: "Helpful friendly crew, reasonable ticket prices."
Cons: "Luggage was delayed by 24 hours, customer service desk in Johannesburg EXTREMELY helpful, in Kigali they were clueless. Transit area very crowded, humid and stuffy."

Flight was cancelled with no notification until I reached the check-in desk at the airport. I also got downgraded and they lost my luggage.

Very bad. Linda the hostess was very rude all the time

Very bad, Linda the hostess was very rude all the time

The flight SA227 on 2nd March Sao Paulo to Cape Town was delayed by 3 hours. All other flights leaving Sao Paulo left on time. We were told that we were waiting for push back and a routing from Air traffic control. I don't believe this, what was the real reason for the flight delay?

I think more immigration officers at Or Tambo- I spent 90 mins in a queue before I can assisted and most people missed their appointments and meetings

Not sure it was a basic airline so nothing much to like but what was annoying was they delayed so much we missed our connecting flight and we had to almost fight to be out on the next flight and also even get food

Everything the crew werr nice and helpful plus the food was good

First row in business class is terrible - no storage space with video screen folded down between seats. Entertainment system didn't show flight info...

At the last minute as I boarded the airplane they made me check my carry on bag. When I arrived my Apple Watch, sunglasses, and medications had been stolen. I find this absolutely unacceptable. I will never fly with SAA again.

Cons: "It’s a hop and a skip, just 2 1/2 hours. But. Nice flight"

Check in desk people constrained by fear. Obvious typo on Uganda visa, even though approved, caused loss of flight. Something is definitely wrong with this system.

Between Air India and Qatar my luggage was lost for three days. I eventually found my own luggage location using the Apple Air Tag. Air India used a paper form to report my lost luggage. I could never get past getting past luggage personnel with my report number before they would hang up on me. Only after them specifically telling Air India at Chandigarh airport where my luggage was located which was right under their noses did they react. After three days I finally received my luggage. The Air India luggage folks didn’t seem proactive in finding the luggage’s rightful owner.

As gold member there is no priority checkin. Meaning you either have to board with your zone or last with business class pax. As economy pax all the baggage bays are filled by the time you arrive

For a short flight, Qatar Airways offers very good onboard service.

It was good no problems made it on time for the next flight overseas!

This is my first and last flight with Qatar because when we go for boarding pass in Delhi airport the team asked for money charging me for hand baggage which is technically including with my ticket so also we get one our temple pics I ask them to checking in but they tell me I have to pay $500 dollars for that additional which is not make sense than I diseased to throw away because I can’t take with us . For carry in beg also I pay some Indian n currency for the guy who help I already pay 6 passengers ticket cost me $8000 so really I’m not happy . PLUS MY 6 checked baggage was damaged I already claim for four beg at airport but now I’m worried about my stuff inside maybe broken too which is more expensive stuff me really bad experience

They shld improve and provide a lunch or dinner in an international leg

Ultimate customer care humble and excellent service oriented crew , perfect timing maintained by the crew . My profound appreciation.

Other than low space, which is the problem with all airlines for economy class, the flight was excellent.

The staffs were very good and helpful especially since we were traveling with a toddler

Seats were great. Business class service has been cut entirely, not even a water handed out

Food was awful and the seats were bad. No privacy in business class with the seat next to someone. 15 hours without WiFi!!!

Food was awful and the seats were bad. No privacy in business class with the seat next to someone.

Staff and service on board is always exemplary. Food however could be better.

The cabin crew were very good, respectful, and nice. However, the flight was delayed more than an hour. They could have managed the problem easily but they couldn't and that affected our travel. Thanks

Seriously one of the most disappoint experiences I have ever had when flying. My flight got delayed FIVE hours. Nobody wanted to help at the airport (“this is Kenyan booking, we cannot do anything”). I got on the phone with someone from Kenyan for one hour until he finally moved my ticket to a Delta ticket. Then the painful journey restarted - the Delta crew in land kept saying there was no other flight and ai had to wait. An agent called Gerard Robert was being so sarcastic I felt humiliated. He would say things like “you say you understand what I am saying but you are not understanding what so am saying”. I asked him to please speak in a less sarcastic tone and he said “I am not going to speak with you anymore, go find someone else”. These were his words. Tired, after 14 hours in a plane, I just wanted to cry. I looked for another agent, who was an angel and rebooked me to another flights. Thanks to her, I made it to my meeting in Washington-DC. I am going to send a formal complaint to Delta about agent Gerard Robert. It is not fair to speak with customers in that cynical, sarcastic tone. If one works in customer service, it ia important to mind that tones can make people feel humiliated. And turning the back to a customer by saying “Go find someone else” can’t be part of his training.

I almost missed my flight because my previous flight (Mombasa- Nairobi, also Kenyan airways) landed in a different terminal. There was no signs whatsoever, no information shared. It felt messy. If the flights are purchased together, like mine, there has to be indications on how to board to the following one.

The cabin is due for a refresh - the seats are very thin and not very comfortable. The AVOD system also did not work on one of the seats and the touch screen were very glitchy. The overall cleanliness of the aircraft could be improved

Food was great. They never to add more current entertainment like movies and shows

Front section of economy cabin is better than rear. Paid for seats selected.

Book Cheap United Arab Emirates Plane Tickets

Recent return flight deals

3/10Thu
1 stopEthiopian Air
16h 35mJNB-DXB
10/10Thu
1 stopEthiopian Air
16h 20mDXB-JNB
R8 241
1/9Sun
2 stopsRwandAir
14h 30mJNB-DXB
3/9Tue
1 stopRwandAir
14h 00mDXB-JNB
R8 260
12/9Thu
directEmirates
8h 00mJNB-DXB
20/9Fri
directEmirates
8h 10mDXB-JNB
R9 603
6/8Tue
directEmirates
8h 20mDUR-DXB
13/8Tue
directEmirates
8h 20mDXB-DUR
R9 676
10/10Thu
1 stopKenya Airways
20h 10mJNB-DXB
14/10Mon
1 stopKenya Airways
12h 00mDXB-JNB
R9 676
10/10Thu
1 stopKenya Airways
26h 10mJNB-DXB
14/10Mon
1 stopKenya Airways
12h 00mDXB-JNB
R9 695
8/1Wed
1 stopQatar Airways
13h 10mJNB-AUH
14/1Tue
1 stopQatar Airways
12h 10mAUH-JNB
R9 934
11/10Fri
1 stopQatar Airways
18h 50mJNB-AUH
20/10Sun
1 stopQatar Airways
13h 15mAUH-JNB
R10 118
7/8Wed
directSouth African
8h 20mDUR-DXB
10/8Sat
directSouth African
8h 20mDXB-DUR
R14 238
15/9Sun
directSouth African
8h 20mDUR-DXB
22/9Sun
directSouth African
8h 20mDXB-DUR
R14 330

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Recent one-way flight deals

11/9Wed
1 stopRwandAir
13h 10mJNB-DXB
R5 096
11/10Fri
1 stopKenya Airways
20h 15mJNB-DXB
R5 132
27/12Fri
1 stopQatar Airways
17h 05mJNB-AUH
R5 574
17/9Tue
1 stopQatar Airways
12h 50mJNB-AUH
R5 721
15/8Thu
1 stopEthiopian Air
14h 45mJNB-DXB
R7 469
10/12Tue
directEmirates
7h 55mJNB-DXB
R7 855
4/9Wed
directSouth African
8h 20mJNB-DXB
R8 260
31/7Wed
directSouth African
8h 00mJNB-DXB
R8 278
27/12Fri
1 stopEthiopian Air
11h 35mCPT-DXB
R8 462
16/9Mon
directEmirates
8h 00mJNB-DXB
R8 499

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Last minute flights to the United Arab Emirates

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

29/7Mon
directEmirates
8h 00mJNB-DXB
5/8Mon
directEmirates
8h 10mDXB-JNB
R9 768
28/7Sun
directEmirates
8h 15mJNB-DXB
20/10Sun
directEmirates
8h 10mDXB-JNB
R10 320
28/7Sun
multi-stopKenya Airways
10h 40mJNB-DXB
19/10Sat
multi-stopKenya Airways
10h 50mDXB-JNB
R10 688
28/7Sun
multi-stopRwandAir
14h 30mJNB-DXB
19/10Sat
multi-stopRwandAir
26h 30mDXB-JNB
R11 479
27/7Sat
multi-stopKenya Airways
26h 10mJNB-DXB
19/10Sat
multi-stopKenya Airways
10h 50mDXB-JNB
R11 755
26/7Fri
multi-stopQatar Airways
12h 50mJNB-AUH
10/9Tue
multi-stopQatar Airways
20h 15mAUH-JNB
R13 006
27/7Sat
multi-stopRwandAir
27h 20mJNB-DXB
19/10Sat
multi-stopRwandAir
15h 10mDXB-JNB
R13 355
30/7Tue
directSouth African
8h 20mDUR-DXB
6/8Tue
directSouth African
8h 20mDXB-DUR
R14 238
26/7Fri
directSouth African
9h 30mCPT-DXB
28/7Sun
directSouth African
9h 45mDXB-CPT
R14 477
27/7Sat
multi-stopQatar Airways
12h 50mJNB-AUH
3/8Sat
multi-stopQatar Airways
19h 15mAUH-JNB
R16 464

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Flights to the United Arab Emirates

Return flight deals:

United Arab Emirates - South Africa

Cabin classes:

R17 697
R36 865
R42 807
R7 119