Perth to Johannesburg opens up first direct flights to South Africa since pandemic

Direct flights between South Africa and Australia will take off from Sunday 28 April, for the first time since the pandemic. The South African Airways flights will connect 40,000 more passengers per year in each direction, between Perth and Johannesburg.

Flight Centre Travel Group Corporate Global COO Melissa Elf said South Africa was an important economic contributor to Australia, particularly in the mining, oil and gas sector.

“We’ve seen an eight per cent uplift in demand from our corporate travellers moving between Australia and South Africa in the first quarter of this year, compared to the first quarter of last year,” Ms Elf said.

“Almost half of that travel is related to the mining, oil and gas sector, and we see large demand across Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, Construction and Education industries.

“The rate of air capacity compared to before the pandemic has been among Australia’s lowest across all international routes, sitting at 37 per cent prior to these South African Airways flights recommencing.

“From this weekend, we’ll see that jump up to 61 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity, and we’re anticipating it to hit around 90 per cent by the end of the year.

“This is already having a positive impact on the cost of fares, which were down by 11 per cent last quarter, compared to the first quarter of 2023.

“We’re expecting to see this trend continue in the coming months as travellers see new options enter the market,” Ms Elf said.

South African Airways Head of Communications Vimla Maistry said Australia, in general, and Western Australia in particular, was an important market for leisure and business tourist arrivals to South Africa.

“Australians are a valuable source of foreign direct spend in our economy, contributing to both direct and indirect South African employment through tourism,” Ms Maistry said.

“Additionally, Mining is a significant economic driver of both economies. The route was introduced to service this economic sector.”