Flights to and from Cape Town continue to increase

STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS

I am very happy that flights to and from Cape Town are starting to increase. I can confirm that as of yesterday, 1 March 2021, Turkish Airlines will increase flights to Cape Town from two to three flights per week, likely increasing to four flights by the end of the month.

Recently, KLM’s route between Cape Town and Amsterdam commenced and from tomorrow, 2 March 2021, Qatar airlines will commence daily flights between Doha and Cape Town. This information was supplied by the successful Cape Town Air Access (CTAA) initiative, located in Wesgro, which the City funds, to ensure we get the aviation sector back on its feet.

These are positive signs and signal the beginning of recovery. In Cape Town, the visitor economy is everyone’s business, supporting thousands of jobs and downstream sectors.

As South Africa moves to Alert Level 1, we must continue to implement all necessary health and safety protocols to save lives and livelihoods.

The City is committed to implementing plans to get the sector back on its feet, but also to come back stronger and more resilient.

Our ten-point tourism strategy embraces international best practices and includes campaigns to stimulate supply and demand for specific key source markets to drive the various stages of recovery and readiness.

Connecting cities forms part of our departmental strategy to connect Cape Town with key destinations in Africa and globally, thereby increasing visitors to our city.

Connecting Cape Town to more cities and countries while adhering to Covid-19 protocols, is key to economic growth. This will, in turn, translate into job creation, social upliftment through tourism, and environmental integrity that will sustain the industry for future generations.

Establishing additional flight routes is a key deliverable of the Tourism Development Framework as adopted by the City Council.

I am confident that we can get the sector back on its feet and share all the wonders that Cape Town has to offer in a safe way.