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Leonard Ncube , Online Reporter

SOUTH Africa’s Airlink on Tuesday launched direct flights between Victoria Falls and Kruger National Park in South Africa, providing seamless options for travellers between the two iconic destinations.

The launch was conducted at the Victoria Falls International Airport when the Airlink aircraft from Kruger National Park landed for the first time, adding to two other routes to Johannesburg and Cape Town that the airline is servicing.

The Airports Company of Zimbabwe described the development as ‘exciting,’ as more and more airlines continue to show interest in flying into Zimbabwe or expanding their services leveraging on the country’s Open Skies policy.

The new service will be available three times a week and marks Kruger National Park as Airlink’s third destination after Cape Town and Johannesburg to Victoria Falls.

The ACZ and stakeholders described the service as “exciting news making sure travellers can easily explore the breath-taking Victoria Falls and seamlessly connect to the vibrant cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg.”

Victoria Falls-based tour operator Ms Yvonne Jandles said the airport had lived its expectation as a game-changer following its commissioning in 2016 after a US$150 million upgrade as evidenced by the coming of new airlines.

“Access to destinations remains a key and critical factor in the growth of our industry as this will drive the much-needed traffic into the destination. This flight will provide a vital link between the two prime destinations promoting regional tourism and providing ease of access to both.

“Hopefully the competition on this route will see lower fares which will also encourage more traffic,” she said.

Lately, travellers wishing to connect to Mpumalanga in South Africa using Airlink were crossing into Livingstone in Zambia to catch the flight.

Increased traffic will improve room occupancies and bookings into activities thereby benefiting the whole tourism value chain.

The coming in of more airlines will also contribute to the country’s drive towards a US$5 billion tourism industry by 2025 and also help the airport reach its goal of 1.5 million passengers per year after upgrading its capacity in 2016.

 

Ms Jandles said the airport has only reached 25 percent of its target.

Meanwhile, the new service will also see FlyNamibia, Airlink’s franchisee partner, operating new flights between Windhoek and Victoria Falls starting in April next year, opening the sky for round-trip multi-destination travel in Southern Africa.

It is the first scheduled air service between the two destinations and lets travellers fly directly between iconic tourist locations Cape Town – central Namibia – Victoria Falls – Kruger Park, all on a single ticket. 

In doing so, this route, and others to follow, will reduce travel time, letting business and leisure travellers spend more time where they want to be, instead of undertaking circuitous routings with connections through an en route hub airport, said Airlink CEO and managing director, Mr Rodger Foster.

 “Our partnership strategy with FlyNamibia is to maximise the opportunity to establish Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport as a gateway to other regional destinations.  The new Windhoek-Victoria Falls route is the first manifestation of this and we expect to announce more in the coming weeks and months.  It will benefit our customers by making it more convenient to travel between the region’s main attractions. It also creates opportunities for our partners in the travel and tourism sector to offer new itineraries,”

 “By connecting Windhoek and Victoria Falls, under this agreement, FlyNamibia is creating new opportunities for tourists and business travellers and stimulate tourism while also fostering trade, commerce and broader economic activity between Namibia and Zimbabwe.”