Cape Town - Direct flights to Ethiopia, Botswana and additional flights to Gatwick are on the cards for Cape Town International Airport, it was announced on Thursday.
In addition to the increased flights, Cape Town Air Access is also negotiating non-stop routes to the US and Asia, and a number of strategic destinations in the rest of Africa.
Cape Town Air Access, launched on Thursday night, consists of the Western Cape Investment and Trade and Promotion Agency (Wesgro), the City, Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) and the provincial government.
The mandate of the Air Access team is to promote, develop and maintain air routes to and from Cape Town International Airport.
Wesgro chief executive Tim Harris described Air Access as a key lever to unlocking greater economic growth in the Western Cape as it stimulated international trade, foreign direct investment and tourism.
“By targeting strategic markets via the development of key air routes, we can stimulate trade and investments that will make the Western Cape an even more competitive business location,” said Harris.
Two additional direct flights by Ethiopian Airlines on a 787-8 will start on February 1, and the new SA Airlink flight to Maun Botswana will fly five times a week from March 11.
Thomas Cook will operate three direct flights a week from Gatwick to Cape Town with an Airbus 330 in the next summer season.
Harris said the City proactively established key relationships with international stakeholders, while Acsa Cape Town fostered an understanding of the traveller market through data analysis and interpretation.
Cape Town Tourism played an instrumental role in connecting relevant private sector partners to lobby for route development.
Acsa spokesperson Deidre Davids said they anticipated that Cape Town International Airport would have surpassed the 10 million passenger mark by this time next year.
Cape Times