By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South African Airways (SAA) will fly between Johannesburg and Durban again from 4 March this year.
“We have been constantly evaluating our route performance and waiting for the data to guide us on the timing or the Durban relaunch. We are delighted that the time is now right to add this important route back to the SAA network and further support the recovery of South Africa’s business and tourism sectors,” SAA said in a statement on Wednesday.
Since its restart, SAA has only been flying between Johannesburg and Cape Town domestically. It is currently also offering flights to Accra, Harare, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lusaka and Mauritius.
Due diligence of SAA’s chosen strategic equity partner, the Takatso consortium, is still under way. It is anticipated that the consortium, consisting of Global Aviation, which operates low-cost airline LIFT, and African infrastructure investment company Harith, will have to invest about R3 billion in SAA over a three-year period.
Premier Sihle Zikalala says the resumption of SAA and Qatar Airways flights to Durban will help with the economic recovery of the province.
SAA’s return to King Shaka International Airport follows close on the heels of the resumption by Qatar Airways of flights out of Durban.
Qatar, the Gulf airline headquartered in Doha, resumed flying from KwaZulu-Natal on January 14 with an initial frequency of four flights a week.
“The resumption of SAA and Qatar flights between Durban and Johannesburg and Durban and Doha respectively will benefit the tourism sector, which remains one of the greatest creators of employment in KwaZulu-Natal,”said Zikalala.
“Through our economic recovery, reconstruction and transformation plan we have stated our commitment to increasing trade, tourism and beneficial collaboration with the rest of the world.
“Efficient and regular aviation services are necessary if we are to increase visits to our province, to grow tourism numbers and to create jobs up and down the value chain.
Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC, Ravi Pillay, said that air transport is key to advancing economic growth of KwaZulu-Natal.
“We welcome the reintroduction of SAA flights between Durban and Johannesburg. This is crucial in growing our economy and domestic capacity on the essential Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal route.
“This announcement comes straight after positive tourism numbers during the festive season, which were anchored on high occupancy rate of around 80% during the Christmas week,” Pillay said.
Pillay added the provincial government had worked hard to address the negative impact on the KwaZulu-Natal economy caused by disruption in connectivity, resulting from the grounding of many airlines, including SAA.