SAA Flight Lands in Port Elizabeth With Just 420kg of Fuel After Being Diverted Twice

• A South African Airways flight travelling from Johannesburg to Cape Town on 11 May 2026 was forced to divert twice after severe weather blocked landing
• The plane touched down in Port Elizabeth with very little fuel left after being turned away from both Cape Town and George due to dangerous storm conditions
• SAA confirmed the incident was reported and investigated in line with standard aviation procedures

A South African Airways Airbus A320 gave passengers quite a scare on 11 May 2026 after what should have been a straightforward two-hour flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town turned into a nerve-wracking series of diversions.

Flight SA313 was approaching Cape Town International Airport when a sudden weather system moved in, and a wind shear warning was issued. This issue forced the crew to abort the landing and circle in a holding pattern above the city while waiting for conditions to clear.

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Storm chased the plane to two airports

When the crew realised they had only about 75 minutes of fuel left, they made the call to divert to George Airport, around 430 kilometres along the coast. But as the plane got close to George, the crew was told that a severe storm had moved over the airport, and landing was not possible there either.

With options running out, the pilots turned the aircraft towards Port Elizabeth's Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.

The situation remained tense as the plane began descending into Port Elizabeth, with storm conditions still in the area. Fortunately, the weather held just long enough for the aircraft to land safely, touching down about 65 minutes after leaving Cape Town.

This was just 10 minutes before the fuel window the crew had been working with would have closed. Once the plane was at the gate, a check of the tanks found only 340 kilograms in the left tank, 30 kilograms in the centre tank, and 50 kilograms in the right tank.

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According to the report, SAA said the crew followed all the correct procedures throughout the incident and that the matter was reported and investigated as required. No one on board was hurt.

South Africans praise the pilots

@Giga Fed said:

"I congratulate South African pilots for their professionalism."

@Graeme De Lange added:

"Well done to the pilots for performing a safe landing before disaster struck."

@DukeVincent ThebornLegend noted:

"Luckily, it's an Airbus. Serious redundancy."

@Drew Wicher joked:

"It would have been on the water had it been a Boeing."

@Tos Mostert said:

"Pilot who could not calculate fuel consumption correctly."

@Gavin Winfield added:

"That would be pilot error."

@Annie Sklarchik wrote:

"This is why I will never fly SAA."

@Deon Steyn commented:

"What did you expect from SAA?"

Other SA airline and airplane stories

• Briefly News recently reported that three bodies were recovered after a light aircraft that went missing in KwaZulu-Natal was found.
• A man at Bloemfontein's Braam Fischer Airport went viral after sharing pictures of the damaged state of the plane he was about to board.
• A father brought his young son to tears of joy by surprising him with his very first flight, and the moment he captured on camera had people all over South Africa reaching for tissues.

Source: Briefly News