(TAN): Qatar Airways is currently the leading global carrier connecting South Africa by operating one of the largest and most reliable networks in the region, a statement on the South Africa tourism portal said.
Having become the largest international carrier during the early stages of the pandemic, the airline has applied its knowledge of global passenger flows and booking trends to rebuild its South Africa network to 28 weekly flights across Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.
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Qatar Airways increased frequencies to the following destinations:
- Cape Town (increasing to seven weekly flights from March 1)
- Durban (increased to three weekly flights from February 14)
- Johannesburg (increased to 18 weekly flights from January 26)
Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are proud to be the leading international carrier connecting South Africa with Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and the US, offering more flexible travel options and a global network of flights that passengers, trade and business partners can rely on. South Africa has always been a very important market to us and we continue to demonstrate our commitment to the region by adding new routes and steadily increasing frequencies across the continent. As global travel recovers in 2021, we look forward to further expanding our network and offering more connections to and from Africa via the Best Airport in the Middle East, Hamad International Airport, to our global network of over 120 destinations.”
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South African Tourism CEO Sisa Ntshona said: “We are delighted at the confidence shown by Qatar Airways by increasing its air capacity to South Africa in these challenging times. This certainly demonstrates to the world that South Africa has put the necessary measures in place to ensure that it is safe for travel in the Covid-19 environment. Air Access is important for South Africa, as we to look to recover post COVID and Qatar Airways has an extensive global network that links travellers via DOHA from our source markets. As we embark on our tourism recovery strategy, having airlines such as Qatar Airways play a supporting role by increasing its capacity will go a long way in assisting us regain the international arrival numbers.”
