South Africa

Qantas — Australia’s national carrier — will begin flying between Perth, Australia and Johannesburg on Nov. 1 — fulfilling its long-harbored ambition to take on the 11-hour trek. The flights will run three days a week on an Airbus A330 with 27 business suites and 224 economy seats, with the following schedule: QF65 departs Perth […]

Virgin Atlantic is resuming its seasonal service to Cape Town, seven years after axing the South African city from its network. The U.K. carrier will operate daily Boeing 787-9 flights between London Heathrow and Cape Town from November 5 until March 24, 2023, complementing its existing daily service to Johannesburg. Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson […]

Comair Limited — a British Airways franchisee — which also operates Kulula Airlines in South Africa had its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) suspended indefinitely. The carrier failed to adequately demonstrate to the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) that its risk and safety management systems are up to scratch. What was supposed to be a […]

The South African government said last Thursday that Takatso consortium will now take up 51% of the South African Airways’ shares after a sale agreement was concluded — marking eight months since the consortium. The agreement that consists of Global Airways, owners of low-cost airline LIFT and an infrastructure investment firm called Harith General Partners […]

As the second-largest city in South Africa, Cape Town has become extremely famous for its scenery, sun and the sea – making the city an extra hot tourist destination for travellers all over the world, with the top five countries with the largest number of tourists consisting of the U.S. the UK, France, Germany and […]

During the heart of the pandemic, the world’s largest passenger transport aircraft, Airbus A380, was strongly criticized for inefficiency during the air crisis, leading to most operators retiring the type. However, that was then as better days begin to appear on the horizon of the giant of two floors. The latest move in this direction […]

Emirates and Airlink have announced the expansion of their existing partnership into a unilateral codeshare agreement that will allow travelers to and from South Africa convenient access to more than 40 domestic and regional destinations across 12 African countries. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates Airline said, “The expansion of the Emirates – Airlink […]

The South African aviation market may see a new entrant as early as December with the news that a joint venture between the founder of low-cost carrier kulula.com and Global Aviation has a name. Business Insider South Africa reports that the airline will be called Lift after the moniker was chosen from over 25,000 suggestions […]

South Africa has reopened its borders to international leisure passengers for the first time since March when the COVID-19 pandemic fully impacted worldwide aviation. A Lufthansa 747 from Frankfurt was the first aircraft to land at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International airport (JNB) on Thursday morning. Though foreign aircraft carrying out repatriation flights of citizens and […]

The South African government has agreed to finance the restructuring of South African Airways (SAA) as indicated in a copy of a draft plan shown on Monday. The draft plan involves a government agreement to spend R21 billion ($1.2 billion) to restructure SAA. According to the draft plan, a working capital injection is estimated at […]