<p>We describe a new species of <i>Apus</i> (Aves, Apodidae) from the Early Pliocene of Langebaanweg (Cape Province, South Africa). A single swift humerus was reported from Langebaanweg’s extraordinary rich fossil bird association, but it was never analyzed in detail. More recently, we located a second bone, a carpometacarpus, and completed the comparison of these two specimens with the corresponding bones of as many species of Apodidae as possible, leading to the description of the new species <i>Apus boanoi</i> sp. nov. The new species represents the largest species of the genus <i>Apus</i> known so far and the oldest from Africa; it represents an important calibration point for the split between <i>Apus</i> and <i>Tachymarptis</i>. The rarity of the new species in the very rich Langebaanweg fossil bird assemblage fits with the current paleoenvironmental reconstruction of a flat fluvial and coastal environment not suitable as breeding area for <i>Apus</i> swifts.</p>