WATCH the World Routes Strategy Summit on stage interview between our Head of Content & Industry Relations, Michael Miller and Nico Bezuidenhout, Chief Executive Officer, Mango and up until very recently also acting Chief Executive Officer, South African Airways.
One new start-up airline featured in the listings at the World Routes Forum in Durban, South Africa this week – and it is set to begin operations in West Africa.
As another successful World Routes draws to a close on the African continent, the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, has officially handed the event over to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, China for 2016.
Turkish Airlines has continued its march into Africa with the announcement that it will begin flights directly into Durban, South Africa from its Istanbul base.
Directors and representatives of the airlines of the Indian Ocean have signed the agreement establishing the Vanilla Alliance on September 21 in Antananarivo.
The new three-times weekly Lusaka – Durban link will see Proflight Zambia complement the existing operations of South African Airways Express on the international city pair and will open up an alternative schedule for travellers from Zambia to enjoy the sea, sporting and cultural events, shopping and business prospects across tha KwaZulu-Natal province.
Speaking to Routesonline on the sidelines of the World Routes network development forum, Makona confirmed that the resumption of long-haul flights from Harare is the main development target for the carrier and it seeks to work with the local tourism authority to put Zimbabwe back on the international route map.
In correspondence with Routesonline during the forum, founder and chief executive officer, Alpha Diallo confirmed that the carrier “will fly in West Africa” but its proposed network and “cities are not finalised yet”. The start-up is understood to be based at Gbessia International Airport in Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea.
Turkish airport operator TAV Airports Holding's ongoing growth and its partner Aéroports de Paris (ADP) has become the largest airport network in the world the company said at the 21st World Route Development Forum in Durban today.
The plight of African airlines took centre stage at the World Routes Strategy Summit in Durban. Lack of liberalisation has been placed at the centre of African airlines' woes, leading to non-African airlines' domination of the continental airspace. African aviation stakeholders need to use every opportunity to put pressure on governments to do good on their promise to open up the African skies.
Shell Aviation announced year-on-year growth AeroShell Piston Engine Oil Sales, strengthening the position of AeroShell lubricants as the best-selling piston engine oil in the world.
Speaking at the World Routes Strategy Summit in Durban today, David Scowsill, President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), urged African governments to implement open skies to realise the continent's true travel and tourism potential.
South Supreme Airlines suspends operations with immediate effect, blaming South Sudanese banks and their lack of foreign currency, ch-aviation reports.
Gulf carrier Qatar Airways confirmed in February this year that it would introduce flights to this year’s World Routes host city as part of an expansion of its network in South Africa. The four times weekly service, as an extension of an expanded schedule between Doha and Johannesburg, will be launched from December 17, 2015, just three months after World Routes, providing an important new hub connection offering to the coastal city.
The expanding airline already operates into Zimbabwe from the Dar Es Salaam base of its original Tanzania business, but the arrival of the new aircraft represents a significant step forward in its activities in southern Africa. It will initially use the aircraft to launch domestic flights between Harare and Victoria Falls.
The Star Alliance member has been serving the Cameroon market since the early 1970s after first introducing flights to Douala in 1971 and has been offering uninterrupted service since 2003.
The new rules require that any child arriving in South Africa must carry an unabridged birth certificate, or have submitted this earlier when applying for a visa. The change has been introduced by the South African government as a security measure against child smuggling.
In recent months a number of international airlines have outlined plans to expand into the Durban market, although local officials remain tight-lipped on this subject until final contracts are agreed and formally signed.
In recent years the Province of KwaZulu-Natal has positioned Durban as a world-class African city, having successfully hosted high profile events like COP17, BRICS Summit, Top Gear, Volvo World Championships, MTV Awards and just last week the World Forestry Congress made its debut on the African continent. It was also recently announced as the host for 2022 Commonwealth Games.
