SAA boosts flight operations in key destinations

Abdullateef Fowewe

South African Airways has declared a significant increase in its flight frequencies to key African destinations from November 2024.

SAA in a statement by its media team on Thursday, also confirmed an increase in its flights to Mauritius in December 2024 and to Perth in January 2025.

The aviation firm stated that it will operate 12 weekly flights to both Harare and Lusaka, up from the current 10 times a week to both destinations, starting next November, noting that flights to Lagos and Accra will increase to four times a week, up from three weekly flights.

The statement also affirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, SAA will improve its presence by flying five times a week to Kinshasa.

“Domestically, SAA will increase its flights to Gqeberha to three times a day,” The statement reads partly.

Connecting Africa SAA’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, Professor John Lamola, underlined that after a rapid route expansion since 2021, SAA aims to consolidate its position and strengthen its role in connecting Africa.

Lamola said, “South Africa has seen a promising travel recovery this year, with most visitors coming from other parts of the African continent. Our strategic growth focuses on expanding routes based on demand and feasibility.

“We are also guided by our unique mandate as a national carrier, to ensure that we help grow South Africa’s economy.

“Air travel plays a key role in building our tourism and trade links across Africa, which benefits both South Africa and the continent as a whole.”

SAA is also poised to increase the frequency of its flights on its successful routes of Mauritius and Perth, stressing that “The airline will begin flying twice daily to Mauritius from the beginning of December to coincide with the peak holiday season.

“SAA will increase flights to Perth – a very popular destination for South Africans – to five times a week from 7 January 2025.”