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New tailwinds for SA
air routes
A string of announcements of new flights to and from South Africa will boost travel and tourism, says ACSA.
Airlines ranging from British Airways to Air Botswana, FlySafair to Norse Atlantic Airways have announced a string of new flights in and out of South Africa, covering several of the country’s airports.
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) says the new flight routes and additional flights to several of its airports “are a testament to the continued successful collaboration enjoyed with our partners in the aviation, economic and tourism sectors”.
It will all start rather modestly, with Air Botswana launching an inaugural flight between Gaborone and Durban, with a direct flight to King Shaka International Airport, on 11 October 2024. The airline will operate three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
From 1 November 2024, British Airways will increase flight frequency between Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) and Heathrow, London, for the upcoming summer season from November 2024 to March 2025. The airline currently offers a daily service from London Heathrow and will have an additional daily service from 11 January 2025. The BA Cape Town Heathrow route will replace the carrier’s three weekly Seasonal service from London Gatwick, which will now only operate from 14 December 2024 to d 8 January 2025.
Norse Atlantic Airways will commence a new affordable service between London Gatwick and CTIA, with three weekly flights starting on 28 October 2024.The flight is scheduled to arrive in Cape Town at 09:30 and depart for London Gatwick at 11:45 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
This month FlySafair launches its first international route, between Cape Town and Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek, Namibia. The new route offers two flights a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with the first flight scheduled to take off on 22 October 2024.
From 5 November 2024, South African Airways (SAA) will increase the number of flights between Johannesburg and Harare from 10 to 12 a week. SAA announced last month that it will increase nonstop flights between Johannesburg and Perth to four flights a week from 8 December 2024.
These come on top of Airlink recently launching daily flights between OR Tambo International Airport and Mozambique’s Beira International Airport, and a route between Johannesburg and Dares Salaam, Tanzania. It has since been given authorisation for a direct flight from Cape Town to Gaborone, from 1 April 2025.
