Etihad's inaugural Cape Town flight arrives

A delegation of Etihad Airways management and VIPs were aboard the inaugural flight which left Abu Dhabi airport at 10.20pm last night and arrived in Cape Town at 8.30am this morning (all times are local).

This was the first of the new flights that will operate via Etihad Airways' current daily Airbus A330 service to South Africa’s commercial capital Johannesburg. Cape Town is Etihad’s second destination in South Africa - and its fifth on the African continent - alongside Khartoum, Cairo and Casablanca.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “South Africa is a leading global destination of choice for tourism and commerce and we are thrilled to launch a daily service to Cape Town, our second city in the country.”

The new Cape Town service is expected to be welcomed by South African expats residing in the UAE which now stands at approximately 40,000 people. Many more South African nationals live across the Middle East region and also will be able to connect quickly and easily back home via Abu Dhabi.

Above: (Left to right) Dan Plato, Mayor of Cape Town; Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer; and Alan Winde, Western Cape Member of Executive Council for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism; celebrate the arrival of Etihad Airways inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi to Cape Town on Thursday 1 October 2009.