Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (FAPE)

Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport at a glance

Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport is a large airport in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape, South Africa, known to airline systems as PLZ. The field elevation of 226 ft (69 m) is the number every arriving pilot dials against QNH — circuit heights and initial approach altitudes at FAPE are all figured from it. The airport handles scheduled commercial service, so expect controlled procedures, published approaches and commercial traffic in the pattern.

Of its 2 runways, the longest — 08/26 — offers 7,087 ft (2160 m) of asp surface, with runway lighting for night operations. Runway numbers give magnetic orientation: runway 08 points roughly 80° magnetic.

For the weather side of planning, the live METAR and TAF page for FAPE shows the current observation decoded line by line — wind on an instrument dial, visibility, cloud layers and the resulting flight rules — refreshed continuously from official sources.

Flight-planning notes for Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport

Density altitude is the quiet performance-killer at any field: on a hot day the 226 ft field elevation of Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport can translate into a substantially higher density altitude, stretching take-off rolls and flattening climb rates — run the numbers rather than trusting the feel of a standard day. Expect published instrument procedures, controlled airspace and clearance requirements; slots and handling may apply to general aviation traffic.

This entry is one of 62 airports and airfields we list for South Africa — the country index on the airports hub links the rest. Coordinates above are given in both DMS and decimal degrees so they can go straight into a GPS, a flight planner or a chart plot without conversion.

Where this data comes from

The reference layer behind this page builds on the OurAirports dataset — a public-domain, community-maintained register of the world's airports that many flight planners and apps rely on — with equity records preserved from documented historical listings where the dataset is silent. Figures are carried as published: elevations as surveyed, coordinates as filed, runway dimensions as recorded. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap, and the whole layer regenerates from source on every site build, so corrections upstream arrive here automatically.