Here’s all the exciting plans Emirates has for its South African route

EMIRATES will expand operations in and out of South Africa to 28 weekly flights by October 31. AP File Photo/Michael Dwyer

EMIRATES will expand operations in and out of South Africa to 28 weekly flights by October 31. AP File Photo/Michael Dwyer

Published Sep 8, 2021

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Emirates has strengthened its commitment to South Africa with a further expansion of operations.

The airline will expand operations in and out of South Africa to 28 weekly flights by October 31, the airline's largest weekly schedule to South Africa since the start of the pandemic.

The airline said in a statement that the ramped-up operations will see double daily flights to Johannesburg, including the introduction of Emirates’ iconic A380 on one of the daily flights, and daily services to both Cape Town and Durban.

Emirates’ flight schedule expansion comes in response to a surge in customer demand to Dubai as tourist visas have opened up for all nationalities, in addition to the easing of restrictions across some destinations that now allow quarantine-free entry for South Africans.

The airline will also serve Johannesburg with double daily A380 services from January 1, 2022.

And guests can expect many spoils like first-class private suites, luxurious Shower Spa, onboard lounge, spacious seating in economy and premium economy Class cabins and the industry’s largest seatback screens with over 4 500 channels of on-demand entertainment on ice.

SAA

With SAA resuming operations this month, Emirates is set to revive its strategic partnership and co-operation with the airline.

Since the start of their strategic co-operation, close to 370 000 passengers have benefited from the Emirates and SAA partnership.

“With the revival of the SAA partnership, Emirates is strengthening its footprint across South and southern Africa to four interline and codeshare partnerships, including Airlink, CemAir and FlySafair, boosting the airline’s route map with 79 additional codeshare and interline cities, offering its customers more flights, greater access to regional destinations, and a better experience when travelling,” the airline said.

Destination Dubai

Dubai has long been one of the most popular holiday getaways for South African travellers, and remains among the world’s most visited and recommended destinations, with world-class experiences and new attractions that cater for every age, background and budget.

The city safely welcomed over 4 million overnight leisure and business visitors since it reopened in July 2020. South African travellers visiting Dubai must present a negative Covid‑19 PCR test certificate with a QR code issued within 48 hours of the time the sample was collected at an approved local health facility.

Travellers to Dubai must also present a Rapid PCR test report with a QR code for a test conducted at the departure airport within six hours of departure.

Passengers arriving in Dubai will be required to take another Covid‑19 PCR test on arrival at Dubai International Airport. All passengers transiting in Dubai must complete all the requirements of their final destination.