South Africa’s Airlink Adds New Zimbabwe Route

Credit: Rob Finlayson

South African carrier Airlink is set to launch service between Johannesburg (JNB) and Victoria Falls (VFA) in Zimbabwe.

Airlink said in a statement that it has gained approvals from the governments of both South Africa and Zimbabwe to begin flying the route. From Aug. 15, the carrier will operate the service daily using an Embraer E190 configured to carry 98 passengers.

The new service marks Airlink’s second route to Victoria Falls; it also operates to VFA from Cape Town (CPT).

The airline serves Harare (HRE) in Zimbabwe from JNB, CPT and Durban (DUR). Airlink additionally operates flights between JNB and Bulawayo (BUQ) in Zimbabwe.

“Victoria Falls is a jewel in the region’s tourism crown,” Airlink CEO Roger Foster said.

Airlink noted that passengers flying from VFA to JNB will be able to connect to flights operated by global carriers with which it has codeshare accords. The South African airline started codesharing with Qatar Airways this month. The Doha (DOH)-based oneworld member operates 21 weekly flights to JNB.

Airlink also has a codeshare agreement with Dubai (DXB)-based Emirates Airline.

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.