South Africa’s Tourism Minister elaborated on the reasons for the delay in the relaunch of direct flights between India and South Africa.
At a press briefing held on the sidelines of Meetings Africa, the premier pan-African event for the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry, South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille spoke about why direct scheduled flights between South Africa and India had still not begun.
ACSA’s CEO, Mpumi Mpofu, said last year that these flights should be operational by the end of 2024.
DELAYS BEHIND RESTART OF SOUTH AFRICA-INDIA FLIGHTS
De Lille said that she was part of a delegation that visited India in December 2024 to engage Indian counterparts on the matter.
South Africa’s national carrier, South African Airways was part of the delegation visiting India in December last year.
The airline is keen on restarting the route but this would be once it has the capital and equipment to enable it.
The minister humorously gave a reminder of the fact that South African Airways had previously flown this route until it surrendered the service to a privately owned Indian carrier, Jet Airways.
“The Guptas stole our flights to Mumbai, “ de Lille said in her address.
Air India is also interested in operating flights on this route. However, the availability of aircraft is a stumbling block for the airline.
“It is not about if they want to start flying but a matter of aircraft.” de Lille said.
De Lille also said that privately owned low-cost carrier Indigo was keen to enter an agreement with South African Airways, to facilitate the carriage of passengers from India to South Africa via its services to Kenya and Mauritius.
Furthermore, she stated that there was also interest from charter flight operators to operate flights on the route.
AIRBUS ROUTES STUDY
According to research by Geert Lemaire, Marketing Director: Fleet and Network Planning Marketing at Airbus, the Johannesburg Mumbai route is among the most unserved routes in Africa.
Data suggests that passenger demand for this route indicates that it would be profitable for airlines operating services.
The study was presented at last year’s AviaDev Conference, held in Windhoek, Namibia.
The annual event focuses on airline route development in Africa.
