6 airlines announce new international flights for South Africa

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) is welcoming several new flight routes to several local airports, in addition to added flights to several popular destinations.

This comes as the company aims to revive the industry to pre-Covid levels.

“ACSA is actively developing new flight route opportunities to enhance connectivity between our sister countries on the continent and around the world,” it said.

“These will not only propel the company’s efforts to accelerate recovery to pre-Covid-19 levels, but also enhance integration in the region, providing greater convenience and flexibility for travelers.”

Upcoming flights

Starting on 11 October 2024, Air Botswana will launch an inaugural flight between Gaborone and Durban, with a direct flight to King Shaka International Airport.

The route 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 running from November 2024 to March 2025.

The airline, which currently offers a daily service from London Heathrow, will also have an additional daily service from 11 January 2025. These will bring the total weekly flights for the carrier’s London Heathrow service up to 21.

The Cape Town-Heathrow route will replace the carrier’s three weekly seasonal services from London Gatwick, which will now only operate between 14 December 2024 and 8 January 2025.

Norse Atlantic Airways will commence a new affordable service between London Gatwick and CTIA, operating seasonally with three weekly flights starting on 28 October 2024.

The flight is scheduled to arrive in Cape Town at 09h30 and depart for London Gatwick at 11h45 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

“Air connectivity between South Africa and the United Kingdom is a crucial link, fostering strong economic, cultural, and tourism ties between the two nations,” said ACSA.

“Currently, British Airways operates two daily flights, and Virgin Atlantic operates one daily flight between O.R. Tambo International Airport and London Heathrow.”

Also in October, FlySafair will launch 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.

Effective 5 November 2024, South African Airways will increase the number of flights between Johannesburg and Harare from 10 to 12 per week.

The airline also announced last month that it will increase the nonstop flights between Johannesburg and Perth to four flights per week from 8 December 2024.

Recently, Airlink launched daily flights between OR Tambo International Airport and Mozambique’s Beira International Airport, and another route Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The airline has also announced that it has been granted authorization for a direct flight from Cape Town to Gaborone which it plans to commence from 1 April 2025.

“ACSA welcomes these new developments which are a testament to the continued successful collaboration enjoyed with our partners in the aviation, economic, and tourism sectors,” the entity said.

“We look forward to connecting travelers to their next destinations and to facilitating passengers and crew members through our airports.”