(Getty Images) Most international airlines are still not operating commercial passenger flights to and from South Africa.
This is due to ongoing travel bans implemented since the discovery of the 501Y.V2 variant in December 2020.
But at least three major airlines are hoping to restart flights to and from the country – carrying South African passengers – this month.
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South Africans have very limited international travel options thanks to extended border closures, concerns around new coronavirus variants, and lack of demand.
The reopening of South Africa’s borders towards the end of 2020 was supposed to revive travel and tourism. Instead the discovery of a new, more infectious coronavirus variant – 501Y.V2 – which was first identified in samples gathered from the Eastern Cape, led to a wave of fresh restrictions for South Africans.
Many international airlines which last departed South Africa in March 2020 have yet to return.
Throughout January and February, countries in Europe, Asia and North America added new restrictions and extended bans on South African travels. With that, major airlines, some of which had tentatively resumed operations in the window of opportunity between South Africa’s reopening of borders and the discovery of 501Y.V2, quickly suspended operations.
Today, less than half of the international airlines which operated regular routes to South Africa in pre-pandemic 2020 have resumed operations, according to the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa (Barsa). This coincides with South Africans being ranked as the most restricted travellers in the world , according data supplied by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Most international airlines have indicated tentative return dates but point out that these timelines are intrinsically tied to their respective countries’ government-ordered travel restrictions for visitors from South Africa. The plans are more best-case-scenario than any guarantee.
Here is when some of the most important international airlines intend to resume passenger flights to and from South Africa, with South Africans aboard. Emirates – 8 April 2021 (for South African passengers) The flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) suspended commercial passenger flights to and from South Africa on 16 January 2021. The airline resumed flights into – but not out of – South Africa in March.“Emirates’ flights from South Africa remain suspended until 8 April 2021, in line with government directives that restrict the entry of travellers originating from South Africa, into the UAE,” […]
