FlySafair is starting the year strong with the announcement of its first new route for 2024 connecting Cape Town and the Kruger National Park.
- South Africa’s popular low-cost airline will be launching a direct route between Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA).
- This new route makes travelling between the two tourism hot spots more accessible for both local and international holidaymakers.
- The inaugural flight for this route is planned for 2 April 2024 and will make use of FlySafair’s Boeing 737-800.
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In recent years, Cape Town has emerged as a shining star on the global tourism stage, thanks to the concerted efforts of Cape Town Tourism. The city’s popularity, especially among international visitors, has witnessed a remarkable boom, with international tourism experiencing an impressive 76% increase between January and July last year alone. During the festive Christmas period, the city’s allure surpassed pre-COVID levels, recording a staggering 317’000 international tourists passing through the main airport with two-way tickets in hand.
Local travel to the Mother City has also mirrored this upward trend. In the first 6-months of 2023, Cape Town International Airport welcomed 3.2 million domestic two-way passengers, reflecting a substantial 9% year-on-year growth. As a result, many of Cape Town’s iconic attractions have seen a significant surge in visitor numbers.
One of the key contributors to this success is the addition of more capacity and a low-cost carrier to the route between Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA). This development presents an exciting opportunity to extend the tourism success currently experienced in Cape Town to other breath-taking attractions across the country.
We are very pleased to be able to start the year off with such an exciting new route. Although flights to areas surrounding the Kruger National Park are readily available from Johannesburg, there are limited commercial flight options from Cape Town.
// FlySafair Chief Marketing Officer, Kirby Gordon
The Kruger National Park, often hailed as one of South Africa’s most spectacular and unique tourist destinations, stands to benefit immensely from this tourism boom. Not only does the park serve as a vital source of income for surrounding communities, but it also plays a crucial role in preserving the country’s rich biodiversity and wildlife heritage. The strategic growth of this route aims to entice international tourists and Cape Town locals alike to extend their holidays, incorporating a visit to the Kruger National Park. This, in turn, is poised to have a profoundly positive impact on overall tourism in South Africa.
Starting at R1851 for a one-way ticket, flights will depart from Cape Town at 9am every Tuesday and Saturday, arriving at the destination around 11:30am. The aircraft will undergo a swift turnaround, taking off from KMIA at 12:05pm and touching down in Cape Town at approximately 2:50pm.
Cape Town and the Kruger National Park are two of our country’s most popular tourist destinations. Unfortunately, though, they sit in opposite corners of our country, making travel between them both inconvenient and costly. We hope that by introducing our low-cost option to the market, we can encourage more tourists to build a visit to Kruger into their trip itineraries while also opening this gem to the people of the Western Cape.
// FlySafair Chief Marketing Officer, Kirby Gordon
The introduction of this new route not only promises enhanced accessibility to the Kruger National Park but also signifies a broader shift in the tourism landscape. As Cape Town’s success story reverberates across the country, local economies stand to benefit, and a diverse array of attractions can expect an influx of eager visitors.
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