CPT, DUR fight for international access

MORE international flights to
Cape Town and Durban could
be on the cards – with several
airlines showing interest in
flying to the cities at the recent
World Route Development
Forum in China. In part this
can be attributed to local
governments incentivising
carriers to fly to SA.
Cape Town Air Access
asserts that travellers will
be able to fly Cape Town-US
direct by 2018. While none of
the major US carriers could
confirm this, project director,
Paul van den Brink, says there
are three US carriers that want
to engage with Cape Town to
create business cases for a
route to the city.
Durban has also seen
considerable interest from
international carriers with
passenger growth increasing
by 16% between July 2015
and July 2016. This followed
the introduction of an air
services committee that
co-ordinates and promotes
international air services
into King Shaka International
Airport through marketing and
incentive support programmes,
Hamish Erskine, ceo of Dube
TradePort told TNW.
The committee, established
by the KZN MEC for Economic
Development, Tourism and
Environmental Affairs three
years ago, evaluates airlines
that want to fly to Durban
and then, dependent on the
service proposed, airlines can
qualify for technical incentives
or marketing support, or both.
“Approved technical
incentives would typically cover
the cost of the landing and
navigation fees incurred by the
airline at KSIA on a reducing
scale over three years,” says
Hamish, while support could
include marketing in the
source country. He says the
most likely routes to Durban
are London and Mumbai, and
that Dube TradePort has a
strong business case for a
Durban-London route, with BA
showing particular interest
during the Routes Forum. But
the airline says it has no plans
to fly to Durban just yet. Dube
TradePort has had discussions
with both Air India and SAA
over a Mumbai route.
Meanwhile, ORTIA’s status as
an African hub is under threat
– see story on page 1.