By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Air France is returning its seasonal direct flight between Cape Town and Paris for the 2025/2026 southern summer season.
Operating from December 15, 2025, through January 12, 2026, the route will provide daily flights timed to coincide with South Africa’s warm summer and Europe’s bustling holiday period.
The daily service will be operated by the state-of-the-art Airbus A350, offering South African travellers a comfortable and stylish journey with the hallmark French flair Air France is known for. From gourmet meals to Champagne in all classes, passengers can expect an elevated travel experience from take-off to landing.
This expanded service not only makes it more convenient for European travellers to reach Cape Town’s beaches, winelands and world-class culture, but also gives South Africans more options to connect seamlessly to Europe, the Americas, and beyond via Paris.
Air France’s daily seasonal service will see flight AF0871 departing Cape Town each morning at 08:50 and landing in Paris at 19:20. The return flight, AF0890, will depart Paris at 18:30 each evening, arriving in Cape Town at 06:45 the following day.
“We’re thrilled to bring our seasonal Cape Town–Paris flights back and see it upgrade the service to daily flights connecting both cities this summer. This seasonal increase to daily flights between the two cities is a reflection of Air France’s strong and growing relationship with South Africa,” says Wilson Tauro, Country Manager Southern Africa at Air France-KLM. “Air France is dedicated to making the journey as memorable as the destination – and with French flair, world-class service, and a glass of Champagne on board, we’ve got that covered.”
Together with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France-KLM will offer up to 18 weekly flights to Cape Town and a total of 32 flights per week to South Africa, providing over 11,000 seats in each direction every week.
Bookings are now open on www.airfrance.co.za. Travellers are encouraged to secure seats early for the peak holiday season.