The number of international airlines connecting King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) in KwaZulu-Natal to key destinations around the world continues to grow.

“Ease of accessibility to the province is pivotal in increasing the number of congress delegates, incentive groups and tourists,” said James Seymour, CEO of the Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau.

The airlines servicing KSIA include: Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, and Air Mauritius were joined in March 2017 by Air Seychelles.

Speaking at the launch, Terence Delomoney, general manager of KSIA, said, “Air Seychelles is now the sixth international airline that we have launched in 18 months. This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our partners and stakeholders that include KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Dube TradePort, Trade and Investment KZN, Durban Tourism, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Airports Company South Africa and others to ensure that KwaZulu-Natal and Durban is the destination of choice. We as KSIA are very proud to be associated with these strategic partners and will continue to work closely with to bring more direct flights to King Shaka International.”

Ndaba Khoza, CEO of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) said, “Durban is a long haul destination; time is of increasing importance and business people especially do not want to waste time on connecting flights. While Oliver Tambo International Airport in Gauteng has been a key gateway into the province, the increasing number of airlines at KSIA will make a big difference to our accessibility and competitiveness. It is also important to note that Pietermaritzburg, Margate and Richards Bay airports are also being used more frequently. This has enhanced the competiveness of meeting venues within an hour to an hour and a half of these centres. Visitors attending conferences and other key events in the province will be more likely to add on a few days to their trip. We are excited by this opportunity to market the province as a pleasure destination.”

“Another advantage of direct flights is that it makes it much easier to monitor the number of visitors entering the province. These statistics are essential for research and for market segmentation. We have already noticed a 26% increase in the number of visitors to the Province,” said Khoza.

Hamish Erskine, CEO, Dube TradePort Corporation noted, “The KwaZulu-Natal Route Development Committee has been working tirelessly behind-the-scenes to secure the introduction of new regional and international air services to Durban’s King Shaka International Airport. Strategically presenting data-driven business cases to airlines, we aim to show route planners, from around the world, the potential market that exists within Durban and the rest of KwaZulu-Natal. We are always motivated when a new airline takes up our offer and commences a new route into Durban; we had been in talks with Air Seychelles for the last 12 months for them to put on this new non-stop route.”

Travellers from Durban and KwaZulu-Natal can now enjoy connecting to various other routes via Air Seychelles as they have expanded their partnership with Jet Airways by signing a codeshare agreement on domestic flights between Mumbai and nine cities in India: Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Cochin and Trivandrum. These will also be available for travellers flying out of Durban via Seychelles to India.

Alan Renaud, general manager for Aeropolitical, Alliances and Public Affairs said: “We are delighted to begin serving the vibrant city of Durban with twice-weekly flights from Seychelles. Our route network now boasts air connections to one of the most popular cities on South Africa’s coast, known for its Golden Mile beach and fantastic surfing, and we are confident it will attract strong leisure traffic and business traffic from across our network.”

Colin Naidoo, senior corporate affairs manager said, “This new route to the wonderful exotic islands on the Seychelles will give South Africans an opportunity to discover their world while allowing the people of Seychelles to see what we have to offer as a city, province and country. We do know that more than 10 000 travellers have already visited Seychelles from South Africa last
year and with these network enhancements we are confident that this number will increase in 2017. This is an incredible opportunity to boost trade, tourism and bring our people and bilateral relations even closer together”.

Delomoney added, “I would to mention that our airport has just been awarded the Best Regional Airport in Africa, Best Airport with under five million passengers a year and well as Best Airport Staff Excellence at the Skytrax 2017 World Airport Awards presented in Amsterdam recently. That is not all as our airport is now the second best airport in Africa through the ACI ASQ Awards and our airport also recently was positioned very well internationally as the 10th Most Punctual Airport in the world in our category by OAG Aviation Worldwide.”