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Find cheap flights to the United Kingdom from R5 236

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 Kingdom departing on 18/5. 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.
1 adult
Mon 27/5
Mon 3/6

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Best United Kingdom Flight Deals

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

London
London1 stopR8 544
Manchester
Manchester2 stopsR10 623
Birmingham
Birmingham1 stopR10 755
Edinburgh
Edinburgh1 stopR14 460
Bristol
Bristol1 stopR16 690
Belfast
Belfast2 stopsR16 577
Cardiff
Cardiff2 stopsR19 771
Leeds
Leeds1 stopR16 312
Inverness
Inverness1 stopR13 572
Grimsby
Grimsby2 stopsR15 481

Good to know

Low season

February

High season

December

Cheapest flight

R5 236
Best time to beat the crowds (10% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly (9% more expensive on average)
Flight from OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg to London Heathrow Airport

FAQs - booking United Kingdom flights

  • How long is the flight to the United Kingdom?

    An average direct flight from South Africa to the United Kingdom takes 20h 04m, covering a distance of 15388 km. The most popular route is Johannesburg - London with an average flight time of 11h 05m.

  • What is the cheapest flight to the United Kingdom?

    The cheapest ticket to the United Kingdom from South Africa found in the last 72 hours was R8 923 one-way, and R8 695 round-trip. The most popular route is Johannesburg OR Tambo to London Heathrow and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was R9 413.

  • Which airlines fly to the United Kingdom?

    American Airlines, British Airways & Iberia fly the most frequently from South Africa to the United Kingdom. The most popular route is from Johannesburg to London, and American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia fly this route the most.

  • What are the most popular destinations in the United Kingdom?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is London (93% of total searches to the United Kingdom). The next most popular destinations are Manchester (3%) and Birmingham (2%). Searches for flights to Edinburgh (0,4%), to Southampton (0,4%) and to Leeds (0,4%) are also popular.

  • 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 Kingdom

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

Top 5 airlines flying to the United Kingdom

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from South Africa to the United Kingdom? 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 4064 reviews
8,3crew
8,3entertainment
8,2boarding
7,9food
8,1comfort
Airline reviews

Flights were both delayed. No luggage on arrival for the whole plane and no contact since submitting a PIR.

2,0 MediocreSean, Apr 2024LGW - DXB
Read more about Emirates reviews

Flights were both delayed. No luggage on arrival for the whole plane and no contact since submitting a PIR.

Worst ever. No assistance and communication from Emirates crew. No visibility of when the flight is flying. Couldn’t understand if we can go to lounge to take rest. Emirates system at a certain point said flight is not operating and suggested to take the next flight and in few minutes it suddenly opened the gate for boarding. unsupportive and rude crew. Worst experience ever. Flight was delayed by 5 hours so need the compensation for that.

Absolutely terrible delays for 3 hours changed seats after we paid an upgrade on both legs. It appears it’s up to us to request a refund after they down graded our seat. Never again !!

Superb experience. I hope they bring back the fast track option at Heathrow immigration.

Had the salad which tasted awfully spat it out but still got food poisoning 1 after running to toilet crew would not let me sit near toilets I was stuck in window seat

I liked theAVML food. Taste was alright and quantity was enough. Sometimes during the flight I felt that the smell from toilet was coming to the cabin

The individual attention the crew gives to passengers is commendable and I find them positively helpful.

CREW manager was rude and nasty Crew was not friendly either and had discriminatory attitude.

For such a long flight I feel the spacing of seats could’ve been better to make it more comfortable for passengers. Very little space to move & stretch legs.

The flight was delayed in Jhb and I could have had some help in Dubai trying to get to my connecting flight to London

Flight was late and crew were unwilling to help with information on connections. Call light had been on for 61 minutes without tesponse.

Everything was on time and efficient - expected from a Swiss crew. But the entertainment system was pretty bad - the display was old. Food was pretty bad and a couple of times they started serving drinks and then just skipped past my row (and likely several others)

Overall a good experience, the flight was on time, the crew very attentive and friendly. However the seats are too cramped, there is no space, and as soon as the person in front reclines the seat, it's literally in your face.

Wheelchair was the excellent service. I didn’t have any food or used entertainment. Overall for my trip experience was excellent. Thank you very much and keep up good work. Best regards

Thank you to the cordial crew and good hydration throughout the flight, food was good too. Carry ons usually weight by themselves so it does reduce option for cold weather clothes that are heavy, so carryon weight is tight.

Swiss Air rerouted me at the last minute and lost my luggage. At this time they still have not been able to locate it.

Missed connecting train since flight was late into Zurich and I had to stay at airport hotel because of it as well as I had to repurchase train ticket

Pros: "it was ok."
Cons: "Crew allowed passengers in with no masks. Why do they write a boarding time on a pass? They started 15 min later. Then, "be fast, be fast, we are behind". Plane departed 20 min late."
Pros: "Not one thing about my experience."
Cons: "The alertness of the staff, the boarding process, the knowledge of the staff. Not breaking my luggage!"
Cons: "I fell sick and my doctor advised against flying. Tried calling Swiss Air and JustFly.com: 6 calls back and forth and 7 hours on hold, no help. Finally got advised on driving to the airport to make the flight change at the Swiss Air counter at O’Hare. The representative told me to bring a note from doctor to switch flights. I did the next day. The same representative looked me in the eye after advising the day before and said there’s nothing she could do. Why make an elderly sick person drive to the airport again if you know already you cannot help??Absolutely terrible experience, no help from the airline or travel agency. Total loss of the full price of the ticket."

Cabin crew on our flight showed lack of any customer service gruff and acting annoyed if you asked anything and I mean anything Example a man on the seat over dropped his beer on my husbands blanket We asked if we could switch out blankets cabin crew Said. No we don’t have any extras OK well can you take the wet one Cabin crew looked disgusted and annoyed Took it no OK or yes just a growl

Quick flight. But cabin crew were very noisy and talking too much, especially when we were seated at the back of the plane trying to sleep through the night .

My ticket was for Premium Economy and all the seats were taken, I was placed in Economy class and I’m looking for a refund.

Unfortunately delayed 2 hrs due to faulty tyre.. which had to be changed, but better safe than sorry.

The delay was an issue. Other than that. Every thing good

Hi vergin Atlantic service was good but the flight ticket agent travel up charge me extra 57 pounds as a airport charges, actually I refuse to pay but they say if I not pay £57 then they say you will not be able to travel from Heathrow to goa ,so for me there was no option and it was just 3 day before my departure so i paid, so please look in to the matter. And I have a receipt of £ 57 as well .thanks

Staff didn’t check cabin well for landing seemed more interested in chatting to each other. Food was poor and differed from pre order.

We were in the last group to be called to the flight - which was 30 minutes late taking off. While we were lucky enough to have been given bulkhead seats (due to a medical condition I’d told them about beforehand) the seats weren’t particularly comfortable. A crying baby for the whole trip made things worse, so the crew managed very well with coping. The final thing I’d say was that there wasn’t enough food served during the flight.

Very good. Glad we had Premium for the flight out.

We flew Upper Class from London to The Turks and Caicos. Check in was amazing. Our ldriver too us directly to a special entrance to terminal 3. It took 10 minutes to check in and clear customs. Amazing! The VA lounge is large and comfortable. Boarding the flight was easy and without a wait. The crew was excellent. But the seats were awful, strange and uncomfortable. Having a comfortable flat bed seat is the reason we pays 1000s extra. The VA 787 uses a reverse herringbone configuration. Look it up. You have your back to the window and are facing the aisle with no privacy. Turning the seat into a bed requires assistance from the crew so not very spontaneous. . The food was ok. A bit tasteless and meager portions. Had to pay for WiFi. I believe VA has other configuration on their dream airbus flights. Lots of stuff about all this on YouTube where you can see what I have been describing. I can not recommend taking VA on a long flight with these seats.

Overall good experience. Polite crew. Good foodandentertainment. Seats are small and bit congested though.

I ended up buying (for $340) "extra space" seats because I my flying partner was given a STY boarding pass, leading me to conclude that she was on standby and that we had to buy seats on the flight. I later learned that the flight was not sold out and that we could have gotten on as usual. To be honest, I felt swindled.

I'm Canadian. I have the unfortunate experience of pretty not having the choice to fly with them. THEY ARE TERRIBLE.

The process overall was pretty seamless, and the crew were very friendly (especially Michael). Considering we booked expecting Lufthansa and the flight was operated by United, it was still a very good service and journey overall. The in-flight entertainment was great, with lots of quality options. One slight negative was that I had selected a vegetarian meal prior to flying, but received a vegan one. I think there should be more dietary options as it meant I missed out on some food that I would have preferred (and it seemed like the standard meals and snacks had a vegetarian option anyway). There was also a group of people who were moving around a lot and being generally disruptive at the quietest part of the flight, when the lights were off and most people were sleeping. I would have appreciated staff stepping in to encourage them to be mindful of others). Towards the end of the flight (which was very early in the morning in both time zones), the lights suddenly came on and breakfast was served. In my opinion, this was too early, and everyone was rudely awoken from sleep. After breakfast was cleared away, the lights went off again for about 45 minutes, allowing people to sleep some more. Then the lights came on again for landing. It seems like if they had served breakfast later, the lights on-lights off-lights on shenanigans could have been avoided, and people could have slept longer (and staff could have rested longer too).

You only get a chocolate square and small bottle of water.!

Efficient boarding process. Staff are nice. Food should be better.

Great except my luggage was. Lost my entire. Trip and I had. To go buy things and waste. Time trying to find. My luggage

to be bussed around the airport, then have to sit on the plane for an hour whilst the plane was deiced not once, but twice, then to have to wait for a tug driver is unacceptable. The Captain was very good at communicating.

Terrible. This airline will cancel flights at very short notice.

Overall good experience, just the delay of 2.5 hrs was a bummer.

The first class flight itself was first class, however getting to the airport and getting through the airport was agony. The BA flight sat on the taxiway for ages and caused us to miss our connecting flight which meant half a day lost. Our return flight on BA was cancelled so a dawn flight was made and we lost another half day. Goodby BA

In economy and food was ok, but with limited leg space (and I was in a 2 seat configuration) it was difficult to eat with a tiny seat tray. I spilt wine on my trousers. First time on British Air (I usually fly Turkish Air) and in a 777. Heathrow was pleasant but changing terminals awkward.

Starting with the flight Cairo to London the plain was so poor no entertainment at all uncomfortable seats although it’s 5 hours long,then an American airline plain took me from London to Miami it was a bad experience the crew most of flight time not available and they asked us to help our selves for any snacks if we need. From Miami to London actually was perfect flight with a huge plain and perfect crew but from London to Cairo was horrible plain with stiff fixed seats not movable no entertainment or wi fi very poor Menu which is unacceptable for a business class

There was some delay at Heathrow where a machine needed to "start the engines" wasn't available and they couldn't even find the team tasked to do it. Unacceptable. Caused about an hour delay and seemed unnecessary. Also saw several passengers abusing the overhead luggage situation, having too many large bags and not leaving enough space for others. The crew was good and the refreshments were good in quality and quantity.

They cancelled our ticket, gave us no warning, they reissued it 4 days prior to trip and it was cancelled again when we got to the airport- very stressful, the flight was overbooked so they drove us across Milan to malpensa

Great little city hopper plane. Unfussy and roomy. Nice little snack provided too

I've done hundreds of flights in my life, and this flight was one of the best I've ever taken, From beginning to end, everything went smoothly, professionally, and with a smile and friendly attitude from all employees I interacted with. The food was delicious (and free), as were the drinks. There was just a genial and effective way in the way that British Airways organized the flight -that reminded of days in the 70's, 80's, and 90's, when flying was a fun, and exciting adventure. I enjoyed and had confidence in the abilities of the flight crew, I'll be flying British Airways several more times this summer. Thank you so much for the great experience! Cheryl Olso

Some how I got “offloaded” even though I had my boarding pass Food was horrible Staff were nice and cheerful No headphones were provided

Terrible! I missed my flight to my final destination and British airlines and American Airlines keep pointing fingers on each other’s. Nobody wants to take responsibility

Overall, terrific service, accommodations, and experience. Only reason comfort was rated lower was because it was difficult to keep a comfortable sleeping position for the overnight flight, but I also had an economy seat.

Book Cheap United Kingdom Plane Tickets

Recent return flight deals

15/9Sun
1 stopLufthansa
13h 25mJNB-LHR
15/1Wed
1 stopLufthansa
15h 05mLHR-JNB
R8 544
13/5Mon
1 stopEthiopian Air
16h 50mJNB-LGW
19/5Sun
1 stopEthiopian Air
25h 55mLGW-JNB
R8 846
15/9Sun
1 stopLufthansa
15h 20mJNB-LHR
15/1Wed
2 stopsLufthansa
17h 45mLHR-JNB
R8 903
26/5Sun
1 stopSWISS
13h 20mJNB-LHR
12/6Wed
1 stopSWISS
13h 30mLHR-JNB
R10 396
23/5Thu
1 stopSWISS
23h 00mJNB-LGW
3/6Mon
1 stopSWISS
13h 25mLGW-JNB
R10 661
27/5Mon
1 stopEmirates
24h 35mJNB-STN
3/6Mon
1 stopEmirates
22h 40mSTN-JNB
R13 326
8/5Wed
1 stopEmirates
24h 30mJNB-STN
15/5Wed
1 stopEmirates
18h 05mSTN-JNB
R13 364
8/5Wed
directVirgin Atlantic
11h 05mJNB-LHR
15/5Wed
directVirgin Atlantic
11h 00mLHR-JNB
R13 477
25/9Wed
1 stopBritish Airways
13h 40mJNB-MAN
16/10Wed
1 stopBritish Airways
16h 25mMAN-JNB
R15 462
22/9Sun
directBritish Airways
11h 45mCPT-LHR
7/10Mon
1 stopBritish Airways
16h 05mLHR-CPT
R15 802

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Recent one-way flight deals

18/5Sat
1 stopSAUDIA
17h 05mJNB-LHR
R5 236
26/5Sun
2 stopsQatar Airways
19h 30mDUR-LHR
R5 255
26/5Sun
1 stopSWISS
13h 30mJNB-MAN
R5 746
2/5Thu
1 stopSWISS
23h 35mCPT-LGW
R7 183
5/5Sun
1 stopEmirates
18h 45mJNB-STN
R7 202
5/5Sun
1 stopEmirates
18h 55mJNB-LGW
R7 202
19/7Fri
directBritish Airways
11h 10mJNB-LHR
R9 035
19/7Fri
directBritish Airways
11h 10mJNB-LHR
R9 054
10/6Mon
directVirgin Atlantic
11h 05mJNB-LHR
R22 436
5/5Sun
directVirgin Atlantic
11h 05mJNB-LHR
R23 098

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Last minute flights to the United Kingdom

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

29/4Mon
multi-stopEthiopian Air
27h 30mJNB-LHR
13/5Mon
multi-stopEthiopian Air
15h 05mLHR-JNB
R10 491
29/4Mon
multi-stopEthiopian Air
27h 30mJNB-LHR
6/5Mon
multi-stopEthiopian Air
22h 00mLHR-JNB
R10 642
28/4Sun
multi-stopSWISS
34h 15mCPT-LGW
6/5Mon
multi-stopSWISS
14h 15mLGW-CPT
R11 114
28/4Sun
multi-stopSWISS
23h 20mJNB-LGW
7/5Tue
multi-stopSWISS
13h 25mLGW-JNB
R11 644
1/5Wed
multi-stopEmirates
21h 25mDUR-LHR
8/5Wed
multi-stopEmirates
18h 55mLHR-DUR
R14 592
29/4Mon
multi-stopEmirates
18h 45mJNB-STN
6/5Mon
multi-stopEmirates
24h 20mSTN-JNB
R14 800
2/5Thu
directVirgin Atlantic
11h 05mJNB-LHR
31/5Fri
directVirgin Atlantic
11h 00mLHR-JNB
R15 008
2/5Thu
directVirgin Atlantic
11h 05mJNB-LHR
3/5Fri
directVirgin Atlantic
11h 00mLHR-JNB
R15 386
2/5Thu
directBritish Airways
11h 10mJNB-LHR
15/5Wed
directBritish Airways
11h 00mLHR-JNB
R15 481
29/4Mon
directBritish Airways
11h 20mJNB-LHR
13/5Mon
directBritish Airways
11h 00mLHR-JNB
R16 577

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