The longstanding absence of direct flights between South Africa and India is set to be resolved by the end of this year.
CHALLENGES IN RESTARTING SOUTH AFRICA-INDIA ROUTE
During a panel discussion at Africa’s Travel Indaba held in Durban last week, Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) CEO Mpumi Mpofu spoke of the obstacles encountered in restarting direct air services between South Africa and India.
However, she stated that the relaunch of direct services between South Africa and India was necessary and that these are expected by the end of this year.
“I’ve got to tell you that it is imminent. By the time we wrap up 2024, this issue will be behind us.” Mpofu said.
DIPLOMATIC ISSUES
Mpofu said that diplomatic issues lie at the centre of the restart of scheduled flights on the route.
“This is really about diplomatic relations between South Africa and India,” Mpofu explained.
Mpofu confirmed that South Africa’s Department of Transport was currently in negotiations, which involved agreeing on flight frequencies as well as designating a national carrier to operate the services.
“We used to have a peer relationship with India and had flights on SAA to Mumbai, but what happened over the years, and I’ll say it like it is, there was a problem with a dedicated airline from India who eventually exited the space.” She said.
Furthermore, she said that no airline had been willing to commit to restarting the route.
In the not-so-distant past, both South African Airways (SAA) and Jet Airways offered scheduled flights on the route although both airlines terminated the route a decade ago.
Today Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines handle most of the traffic between India and South Africa.
HINDERING INDIA – SOUTH AFRICA TOURIST FLOWS
A major obstacle for a restart of these flights is visa requirements, which hinder tourist flows.
This is one of the reasons hindering SAA from getting back into the Indian market, according to SAA’s Tebogo Tsimane.
He said that South Africa’s visa requirements made travel inconvenient for Indian nationals and this affects demand for flights.
South African nationals require visas to enter India but convenient e-visas can be obtained online at no cost.
EASING ENTRY FOR INDIAN NATIONALS
The South African government is making significant efforts to simplify the visa application process for Indian tourists.
South Africa’s Minister for Tourism, Patricia de Lille, announced plans to expedite visa clearances and introduce an e-visa system specifically for travellers from India.
This announcement came during a discussion at the Africa Travel Indaba, a South Africa-based tourism event.
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS DIRECT FLIGHTS
South African Airways, which restarted operations after emerging from business rescue in April 2021, has thus far resumed two intercontinental routes.
It operates direct flights from Johannesburg to Perth, Australia (relaunched last month, on 28 April). It also flies from both Johannesburg and Cape Town to Sao Paolo, Brazil (relaunched in October 2023).
The airline has the ambition to expand its international route network but lack of aircraft and limited funding do not allow for route expansion at this time.
TOURISM FROM INDIA
In the first quarter of 2024, South Africa welcomed 16,000 Indian visitors, reflecting a growing interest in the country as a travel destination.
Tourism South Africa has set an ambitious goal of attracting 100,000 Indian tourists in 2024.
If achieved, this rising figure should warrant the relaunch of direct flights between India and South Africa. Even if only a limited number of weekly frequencies are resumed, this offers a degree of sustainability for airlines serving the route.
