Main Terminal hosts Airlink.
Alexander Bay’s only terminal stays locked for most visitors
The Main terminal at Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) technically exists but functions more like a closed building beside a usable 1,600 m runway than a working passenger facility, with pilots on AvCom reporting the terminal doors locked during recent tech stops. Officially, Wikipedia notes the airport “was closed in 2007” and only sees occasional private or specific charter movements, so you should not plan on walking into a normal check-in hall here.
Airlink is still listed as the notional carrier for ALJ, but locals on both sides of the border say they use Oranjemund Airport (OMD) in Namibia, about 18 km away, for any practical commercial flights because Alexander Bay has no scheduled services. Charter pilots mention business jets, Beech 1900s and King Airs dropping in from time to time, treating FAAB/ALJ purely as a technical stop or charter field rather than a passenger station with open counters and waiting areas.
Inside the Main terminal there are effectively zero catalogued facilities: no restaurants, no cafés, no lounges, and no shops listed in any recent guide, and AvCom reports describe the structure as run down and locked. That lines up with the 2007 closure date and explains why you will not find security screening queues, baggage belts, or staffed service desks; if you somehow arrange a charter here, expect ground handling to be organised in advance and handled directly airside on the apron.
Pilots commenting on FAAB highlight runway condition instead of amenities, flagging “lots of fine stones” on the surface as a factor for light aircraft or certain charter ops, with the apron otherwise usable for parking. There are no posted terminal opening hours, no documented public transport links, and no sign of the usual terminal pricing like coffee at ZAR 30 or short-term parking tariffs, because regular passengers are not meant to pass through the building at all.
Regular users treat Alexander Bay as a tech stop: they stay with the aircraft, deal with fuel and paperwork via local handlers, and skip the locked terminal completely, according to the AvCom thread on FAAB. Local residents who actually need to fly on tickets instead route via Oranjemund’s small terminal across the river, adding a roughly 20-minute, 18 km road leg, then boarding Airlink services there instead of counting on ALJ.
Practical tip: if an itinerary or charter quote shows “ALJ – Alexander Bay Airport” as if it had a working Main terminal, ask the operator to confirm in writing whether you will actually use Oranjemund (OMD) for passenger handling and treat ALJ only as a special-case field with a runway and apron but no accessible terminal services.