Qatar Expands in South Africa with Increased Flights

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Qatar Airways continues to be the leading global carrier connecting South Africa by operating one of the largest and most reliable networks in the region. Having become the largest international carrier during the early stages of the pandemic, the airline has applied its knowledge of global passenger flows and booking trends to rebuild its South Africa network to 28 weekly flights across Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.

• Cape Town will increase to seven weekly flights, Durban increased to three weekly flights, while Johannesburg increased to 18 weekly flights, offering passengers more flexible and reliable travel options
• By March 2021, Qatar Airways will operate 28 weekly flights from South Africa
• Airline’s young mixed fleet of sustainable aircraft has enabled it to continue flying throughout the pandemic and rebuild its global network to more than 800 weekly flights to over 120 destinations

South African Tourism CEO, Sisa Ntshona, said: “We are delighted at the confidence shown by Qatar Airways by increasing its air capacity to South Africa in these challenging times.

“This certainly demonstrates to the world that South Africa has put the necessary measures in place to ensure that it is safe for travel in the Covid-19 environment. Air Access is important for South Africa, as we to look to recover post COVID and Qatar Airways has an extensive global network that links travellers via DOHA from our source markets.

“As we embark on our tourism recovery strategy, having airlines such as Qatar Airways play a supporting role by increasing its capacity will go a long way in assisting us regain the international arrival numbers.”

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said the airline is “proud to be the leading international carrier connecting South Africa with Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S.” and that “South Africa has always been a very important market to us and we continue to demonstrate our commitment to the region by adding new routes and steadily increasing frequencies across the continent.”

In line with the airline’s steady rebuild of its South Africa network, Qatar Airways has increased frequencies to the following destinations:

• Cape Town (increasing to seven weekly flights from 1 March)
• Durban (increased to three weekly flights from 14 February)
• Johannesburg (increased to 18 weekly flights from 26 January)

The national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 120 destinations with plans to increase to over 130 by the end of March 2021.

Qatar Airways has become the first global airline in the world to achieve the prestigious 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating by international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax.

Qatar Airways offers unlimited date changes and fee-free refunds for all tickets issued before 30 April 2021, for travel completed by 31 December 2021.