2026 School Holiday Flights — South Africa Term Dates by City

The real gazetted 2026 South African school holiday dates, plus the cheapest times to fly from each major origin city.

2026 school holiday dates (all provinces)

Source: Department of Basic Education 2026 school calendar. All nine provinces aligned since 2024.

What the 2026 dates mean for fares

Domestic fares in South Africa are driven less by season than by the school calendar. When 200-odd school days end on the same date in all nine provinces, demand arrives on every route at once. Three timing details decide what you pay:

• Heritage Day opens the spring break. Term 3 ends 23 September and 24 September is a public holiday — so the break starts on a long weekend. The first four days are the most expensive of the entire spring window. Departing the following Monday or Tuesday is materially cheaper.
• The autumn break wraps Easter. Good Friday (3 April) and Family Day (6 April) sit inside the 28 March – 7 April window, which is why it behaves like a December-grade peak despite being only 11 days.
• Return day is pricier than departure day. Because every province returns to class on the same date, the last weekend of each break is the single densest travel period. Flying home midweek, a day or two early, is consistently the cheapest leg of a school-holiday trip.

2027 school holiday dates — already gazetted

The 2027 calendar was published in Government Gazette No. 52178 in February 2025, so you can book more than a year out with confidence. Term 1 2027 opens on 13 January, which also fixes the end of the coming December break.

Source: Department of Basic Education 2027 calendar for public schools, Government Gazette No. 52178 (25 February 2025). Independent and ISASA schools may differ — confirm with your school. Dates can be revised; verify before booking non-refundable fares.

When to book each break

These are booking windows, not guarantees. Fare behaviour also tracks the South African salary cycle — see how payday timing affects domestic fares.

Cheapest school-holiday flights by city

The 2026 dates are national — but each city's market behaves differently when they hit. Pick your origin for the full breakdown:

• Johannesburg — the country's biggest outbound wave: fares are directional, peaking outbound at term-end and inbound at term-start. Fly against the flow.
• Cape Town — the asymmetric market: December pressure is on inbound seats from Gauteng, so residents flying out do better than the headlines — protect the January return.
• Durban — the double peak: warm winters make the June–July break a second high season that other cities don't have.
• Gqeberha — the homecoming market: Eastern Cape families returning from the metros fill seats at term close and term restart; residents flying out ride the counter-flow.
• Lanseria — the five-route ceiling: a fixed schedule to Cape Town, Durban, George, Gqeberha and East London means peak days sell out before they price out.

School holiday flights — frequently asked questions

When are the 2026 South African school holidays?

The 2026 public-school holidays are: autumn break 28 March to 7 April, winter break 27 June to 20 July, spring break 24 September to 5 October, and the summer break from 10 December 2026. All nine provinces follow the same calendar.

When are the 2027 South African school holidays?

Per the gazetted 2027 calendar: summer break runs 10 December 2026 to 12 January 2027, autumn break 20 March to 5 April, winter break 26 June to 19 July, and spring break 23 September to 4 October 2027.

Do coastal and inland schools still have different holiday dates?

No. Since 2024 all nine provinces follow one unified national school calendar, so coastal and inland schools open and close on the same dates.

Which South African school holiday is cheapest to fly?

The winter break is usually the best value because it is the longest, which spreads demand. Within any break, midweek departures away from the opening and closing weekends are consistently cheaper.

How far ahead should I book school-holiday flights?

Roughly four to six months for the December and spring breaks, and three to four months for autumn and winter. December is the firmest — fares climb from September and seldom fall back.