Cape Town Air Access has announced that direct flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Heathrow to Cape Town International Airport will be reinstated from October 2020 as a seasonal service.
The route will make travel between South Africa and the UK more accessible over the busy festive holiday period and will play a beneficial economic role for local tourism.
‘This is a prime route and will no doubt be very popular, especially given the frequency of the connection. This connection will help to create a more competitive environment which will improve the value proposition for passengers from a pricing and product perspective – having a choice is always good news! We will look forward to welcoming Virgin Atlantic to Cape Town and will play our part in ensuring a smooth start-up at the airport. Well done to the Air Access team on these excellent results – we remain proud of this dynamic partnership!’ said Deon Cloete, General Manager of Cape Town International Airport.
This increased air access will also make a significant impact on jobs and growth as 3 000 jobs are supported by each regularly scheduled long-haul flight, and for every 10% increase in passenger numbers, the regional economy grows by 2%.
Cape Town Air Access is a partnership between Wesgro, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Government, Airports Company of South Africa, Cape Town Tourism and South African Tourism, and is the focal point for international air route development in the Western Cape.
Tim Harris, CEO of Wesgro said: ‘A warm welcome back to Virgin Atlantic and its connection to London Heathrow. The UK is the top market for Cape Town and the Western Cape, in terms of both trade and travel, so this addition to the Cape Town air route network will only serve to strengthen business and tourism between the regions.’
For more information visit: www.virginatlantic.com or www.virginholidays.co.uk
Image: Getaway Gallery
