The sole passenger airline in Upington is South African Airlink.
Lufthansa, Cargolux, South African Airways, and Warbird Cargo fly cargo flights to Upington.
The South African Air Force and South African Airways uses this airport to train pilots for the Boeing 747 and Boeing 707, as well as to handle the Presidential Jet.
From 1976 to 1996, South African Airways used the airport as a refuelling stop for its Boeing 747 flights to Europe. Because South Africa had lost its landing rights on most of the continent because of apartheid, SAA planes were forced to fly from Johannesburg to Upington, take on fuel, and fly over the Atlantic to Europe, avoiding unfriendly airspace. In order to support the takeoff distance of a 747 fully loaded with fuel and passengers, one of the world's longest commercerial runways was built here.