Delta Airlines has become the second US airline to operate direct flights between the United States and South Africa when it resumed its Johannesburg-Atlanta flight route on Monday 2 August.
Delta Airlines, which operated flights between the United States (US) and South Africa for more than 15 years, has returned to South African shores on 2 August. Delta intended to resume its scheduled services to Johannesburg last year and applied for permission to add a stop in Cape Town on the return leg of the flight.
Delta thus hoped to operate a triangular flight routing to South Africa. The airline would have flown from Atlanta to Johannesburg and then added a tag-on flight to Cape Town before heading back to Atlanta in the US.
SEVERAL DELAYS FOR DELTA
When Delta first announced its two-city South Africa service, the airline planned to start operating flights on the route in October last year. The service was dealt numerous setbacks due to travel bans and a slump in passenger demand – which saw the start date being delayed to 8 January, 27 March, 5 June, and then to 2 July.
After these delays, Delta Airlines announced that its first flight would operate from Atlanta to Johannesburg on 1 August and from Johannesburg to Atlanta on 2 August 2021.
STILL NO CAPE TOWN STOP
After learning that its request for permission to operate a triangular route with a stop in Cape Town before heading back to Atlanta had been declined, Delta announced that it would be abandoning the intended stop in Cape Town on the homeward flight to Atlanta.
This decision was not by choice, but because Delta had not been granted approval to stop in Cape Town, by authorities at SA’s Department of Transport.
DELTA SCHEDULES STATE-OF-THE-ART AIRBUS
Delta has scheduled its state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900neo for its Johannesburg-Atlanta flights. The service, first launched by Delta on 4 December 2006, will initially operate three times weekly, offering customers a choice of 150 destinations across the United States via Delta’s largest hub.
BOOST FOR SA TOURISM
United Airlines launched direct flights between New York and Johannesburg in June this year. The inauguration of United’s flights was viewed locally as a positive move since it enables Americans – one of SA’s key tourism source markets to conveniently travel to South Africa again.