By Khulile Thwala
Cape Town Air Access has celebrated its increased intra-Africa network, including the new Eswatini route, deepening economic integration between the Western Cape and the African continent.
Forming the focal point for proactive air route development in Cape Town and the Western Cape, it was highlighted that the Cape Town Air Access initiative had achieved a milestone by welcoming two new connections from Southern Africa into Cape Town, namely, Eswatini Air, which is scheduled to operate a direct flight between the Kingdom of Eswatini and Cape Town, with three frequencies per week, starting on June 2, 2023.
READ MORE: Excitement as Eswatini Air launches flight to Durban
The second connection is Proflight Zambia, which commences its direct flight from Cape Town’s largest unserved market in Southern Africa – Lusaka, Zambia – from July 1, 2023, with two flights per week.
Cape Town Air Access is an award-winning air-route development project, responsible for establishing direct flights that connect Cape Town and the Western Cape with the rest of the world.
The organisation further announced that since its inception in 2015, a total of six African carriers have been added to Cape Town and the Western Cape’s international network, connecting the province to 11 countries and 15 destinations across Africa.
READ MORE: African airlines show interest in partnering with Eswatini Air
In terms of passenger traffic on the continent, it was reported that the two-way number of passengers between Cape Town and the rest of Africa grew by 80 per cent year-on-year from 2021 to 2022. With Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana being the top three countries for two-way passengers in 2022, Lagos (Nigeria) and Lusaka (Zambia) were the top two unserved African destinations.
In addition, the top five carriers by seat capacity, serving the African continent from Cape Town, were Ethiopian Airlines, Airlink, Kenya Airways, TAAG Angolan Airlines, and RwandAir.
