South African Airways (SAA) is planning to re-open international flights to Tanzania next week on Monday, 20 January 2025.
Flights will take place daily between O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, Gauteng, and Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
A new option for travelers
Planes will depart O.R. Tambo every day at 22h00 (SAST), and arrive at Julius Nyerere at 02h30 (EAT).
The flight itself is approximately three-and-a-half hours long, but there is a one-hour time difference between Joburg and Dar es Salaam.
The returning trips will then take leave Tanzania at 05h10 (EAT) and land in South Africa at 07h55 (SAST).
SAA’s interim CEO, Professor John Lamola, declared that the relaunch of the Dar es Salaam route is part of the company’s strategic initiative to strengthen its presence across the African continent.
Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population size and is an important regional, economic, and logistics hub.
It’s also a popular holiday destination for tourists wishing to visit the area’s tropical coastline and national parks.
Additionally, South Africa accounts for a significant portion of foreign direct investment in Tanzania, with the two countries having an established trade in agricultural products, precious metals, chemicals, and machinery.
“This flight is not simply a milestone for SAA and linking Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam through air travel; it heralds a bridge that connects two of Africa’s most influential economies and strengthens the friendship between our nations”, said Lamola.
“It brings together industries, communities, and resources, enabling us to unlock greater prosperity, foster collaboration and generate new opportunities for trade, investment and development for both our economies, and for the people of South Africa and Tanzania.”
SAA on the up
In November last year, SAA also expanded its services to Harare, Zimbabwe, and Lusaka, Zambia, to 12 flights per week, up from 10 and seven per week, respectively.
It also increased the number of trips to Lagos, Nigeria, and Accra, Ghana, from three to four, and it is now flying to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo five times per week.
Likewise, it raised its intercontinental flight frequency to Perth, Australia, to five times per week, showing that the airline is continuing its reform to its pre-business rescue operational capacity.
However, the airline has not been without its issues, most recently involving a strike from its unionized pilots in December, which threatened to disrupt its schedule over the busy and profitable holiday season.
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