Tag Archives: South Africa

Emirates has added a fourth daily flight on the in-demand route. This follows the recent announcement of the second daily A380 between Dubai and Johannesburg, which launched on 1 September, reaffirming the importance of South Africa on the airline’s extensive global network. The fourth daily service will begin on 1 March, 2025, and will be operated on a three-class Boeing 777-300ER, offering an additional 708 seats in and out of South Africa’s largest and busiest international airport every day, broadening options for leisure and business travellers alike. EK767 will depart Dubai at 00:10hrs, arriving in Johannesburg at 06:20hrs; the return flight, EK768, will depart Johannesburg at 10:15hrs arriving in Dubai at 20:15hrs, expanding the airline’s schedule to introduce a morning departure from Johannesburg. Adnan Kazim, Emirates Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer said, “South Africa has long been a highly popular destination for both leisure and business travellers connecting to and through Dubai, and the fourth daily flight enables us to better serve the growing demand for travel to and from the market. We’d like to extend our thanks to the South African authorities for their partnership and support in securing this new service, which reinstates the capacity we offered South Africa pre-pandemic, with 49 weekly flights, across three gateways. As we reflect on nearly three decades of operations to the market, we remain committed to driving inbound travel to South Africa, supporting the government as they aim make tourism the leading economic contributor and vehicle for transformation, as well as encouraging more inwards investment to the country.” The fourth daily flight further supports connectivity across Emirates’ global network of over 140 destinations, optimising schedules to key destinations including Dubai, …

Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism shared that the team is here at the Arabian Travel Market to showcase their many offerings to the travel fraternity in the Middle East and the increase the numbers from the region by creating awareness among the travel trade. She reiterated that the Arabian Travel Market is the stepping stone for them to reach out to the GCC and Middle East as currently they do receive some good numbers from the United Arab Emirates as they have the connections to reach the destination but they are looking at increasing connectivity in the region to attract the numbers from the region as they have witnessed growth from the region over the past few years. She conducted a very comprehensive virtual tour of the destination within 30 minutes which made the media stay back and request for information on the beautiful nation in Africa.

Emirates will be bringing new travel opportunities, choice and convenience for customers traveling to and from South Africa with additional services to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The ramp up of flights are part of the airline’s ongoing commitment to support South Africa’s economic and tourism recovery through enhanced connectivity across all of its gateways. The airline’s latest move also reaffirms South Africa’s strategic importance on its network, as it prioritises service expansion and rebuilding its capacity to unlock further growth potential. The airline will be expanding its schedule to and from Johannesburg with three daily flights from 1 March 2023. Cape Town will be served with double daily services starting from 1 February 2023. Emirates will also be adding two more flights to Durban, making it a daily operation from 1 December 2022.  The reintroduction of the new flights between Dubai and the airline’s three gateways in South Africa will enhance Emirates’ schedule to 42 weekly services. Emirates’ flight EK 767 from Dubai to Johannesburg will operate with a Boeing 777 aircraft, complementing its double daily A380 operation. The flight will depart at 2325hrs, arriving at 0535hrs the next day to Johannesburg.  The return flight will depart Johannesburg at 2220hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0820hrs the next morning. The third daily flight from Johannesburg will help meet high demand with more than 300 available seats each way, and will offer additional flexibility for South African travellers with a new evening departure* for easier connectivity to Europe, the Americas, West Asia and Far East via Dubai. Emirates’ second daily service to Cape Town will depart Dubai at 0910hrs, landing at 1645hrs. It will then depart Cape Town at 1325hrs, …

Emirates announced that the flights to South Africa will remain suspended until March 10 2021, in line with recent government directives that restrict the entry of travellers originating from South Africa, into the UAE. They reiterated that customers holding tickets with final destinations in South Africa will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin. Emirates’ regrets any inconvenience caused. Affected customers should contact their travel agent or Emirates contact centre for rebooking options. To receive update notifications, customers are requested to ensure their contact details are correct by visiting Manage Your Booking. Emirates remains committed to serving our customers in South Africa, and look forward to resuming passenger services when conditions allow. They stated that they continue to work closely with all relevant authorities in this regard, and will endeavour to provide their customers with as much support and notice as possible.

Emirates Airline announced that flights to South Africa will remain suspended until February 12, in line with recent government directives that restrict the entry of travellers originating from South Africa, into the UAE. It stated that customers holding tickets with final destinations in South Africa will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin and that Emirates’ regrets any inconvenience caused. Affected customers should contact their travel agent or Emirates contact centre for rebooking options. To receive update notifications, customers are requested to ensure their contact details are correct by visiting Manage Your Booking. Emirates remains committed to serving their customers in South Africa, and said they look forward to resuming passenger services when conditions allow. They will further continue to work closely with all relevant authorities in this regard, and will endeavour to provide their customers with as much support and notice as possible.

The Higher Organising Committee of IWAS World Games Sharjah 2019 confirmed that 1,462 participants from 50 countries are set to compete in the world’s largest wheelchair and amputee sports championship in Sharjah from February 10-16. Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member Ruler of Sharjah, the IWAS World Games has returned to the emirate for the second time after its successful debut in the city in 2011. The eighth edition of the world championship brings together seven games including archery, athletics, badminton, swimming, shooting, table tennis and wheelchair fencing. New details of the upcoming biennial sports championship were revealed at a press conference held recently at Sheraton Sharjah Beach Resort & Spa. Global athletes landing in Sharjah over the next few days are set to represent 50 competing nations confirmed by the Higher Organising Committee which include the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Algeria, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, India, Sweden, Ukraine, Thailand, Turkey, Brazil, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, Kenya, Russia, China, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Poland, Pakistan, Norway, Kenya, Latvia, Macau, Azerbaijan, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Serbia, France, Georgia, the UK, the US, Hong Kong, Greece, Czech Republic, Austria, Belarus and Comoros.

IHG announced the signing of Holiday Inn Cape Town in partnership with Leisure Hotel Holding (Pty) Ltd. Currently operating as Strand Tower Hotel, the property is expected to be rebranded as Holiday Inn by later this year, marking the brand’s debut in the city. With 242 rooms, the hotel will serve all day dining with buffet-style meals and a selection of award-winning estate wines from the nearby Cape Winelands. Holiday Inn Cape Town is also equipped with a gym, sauna and steam room. For business groups and travellers, the hotel offers two large conference rooms and four break-away rooms that are ideal for training and discussion groups. This signing is in line with IHG’s strategy to increase its brand’s visibility and franchise estate in South Africa. South Africa is becoming an increasingly popular destination for tourists from the Middle East, due to its favourable seasons and rich cultural experiences. According to recent research, the growth in visitors to South Africa from the Middle East represented a 36 per cent increase on the previous year.

South Africa based hotel brand One & Only is scheduled to open their latest resort in Seef, Bahrain later this year. Situated on the north-western coast of Bahrain, the resort will feature approximately 150 guest rooms, suites and villas, situated on a private beachfront. The resort will also feature world-class dining and retail choices, including a Hakkasan restaurant, along with a Givenchy Spa.

The Embassy of South Africa launched a South Africa Visa Application Centre in Dubai. Services at the centre commenced on February 1, 2017, but the centre was officially inaugurated by H.E. MK Lekgoro, Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to the United Arab Emirates, at a ceremony held on February 28, 2017. The centre is situated at WAFI Mall, Level 2, Falcon Phase 2, Umm Hurair 2, Dubai. With South Africa being a popular travel destination for business and leisure travellers the world over, the streamlined and professional services offered at new centre aims at providing residents of the UAE elevated levels of customer service when applying for their visas. Well-trained staff with local language capabilities deliver personalised attention to applicants for a smoother and more convenient application experience. Speaking at the inauguration, H.E. MK Lekgoro, Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to the United Arab Emirates, said, “It is with great pleasure that I formally inaugurate the South African Visa Application Centre in Dubai, which finally formalises our long standing relationship. This will add to the streamlining of much valued services to the public who we are sure will receive the best services in a professional manner.” Vinay Malhotra, COO – Middle East & South Asia, VFS Global, added, “We at VFS Global are committed to providing world-class visa application services on behalf of our esteemed client government, the Government of South Africa, to the residents of the UAE. We are confident that the newly launched centre in Dubai will add to the overall experience of travelling to the vibrant country of South Africa and are privileged to be a part of this new initiative.”

The national airline of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways has signed a new code-share agreement with kulula, the award-winning low-cost carrier from South Africa. The code-share deal offers Etihad Airways customers flight options to a number of key cities in South Africa that include Cape Town, Durban, George and East London via Johannesburg. Etihad Airways will place its EY code on kulula’s scheduled flights between Johannesburg and these popular coastal cities. This agreement allows guests access to through-check-in and baggage transfer to their final destination. The new code-share services went on sale from October 3, 2016, with travel from the start of the Northern Winter schedule on 30 October. The agreement with kulula strengthens Etihad Airways’ commitment to Africa and brings the total number of destinations that it serves across the continent to 23 through its existing code-share partnerships with Kenya Airways, Royal Air Maroc, and strategic equity partner Air Seychelles. Etihad Airways currently operates scheduled services to 10 destinations in Africa, namely Johannesburg, Nairobi, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam, Khartoum, Casablanca, Rabat, Lagos, Cairo and Mahé in the Seychelles.