Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) Regional General Manager, Nkosinathi Myataza, said the resumption of the Turkish Airlines flights signified the resilience of the aviation industry which had been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic Turkish Airlines is back in Durban. Passengers on board the Turkish Airlines flight that landed at King Shaka yesterday were given a warm Durban welcome as they stepped into international arrivals. Picture: Theo Jeptha African News Agency (ANA)
Durban- AFTER a two-year hiatus, the return of Turkish Airlines to Durban’s King Shaka International Airport will add much-needed traffic between Europe and South Africa.
This is according to Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) regional general manager, Nkosinathi Myataza, who said the resumption of the Turkish Airlines flights signified the resilience of the aviation industry which had been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Passengers on board the Turkish Airlines flight that landed at King Shaka yesterday were given a warm Durban welcome as they stepped into international arrivals.
The airline has extended two of its Istanbul-Johannesburg flights to include Durban on Thursdays and Saturdays and has plans to increase these to four weekly flights later this year, depending on passenger uptake.
Myataza said the flights would help propel the recovery of air freight and passenger travel, a key driver of South Africa’s tourism sector, an economic multiplier for the country.
Speaking on behalf of the eThekwini Municipality, Nkosenhle Madlala, said prior to Covid-19, Istanbul ranked number seven as a top international destination for Durban.
“These flights to Durban will make it easier for local passengers to visit Istanbul and will allow travellers from our source markets in Europe to fly into Durban,” said Madlala.
Turkish Airlines’ Adem Ekmekci said Durban remained a strategic market for the airline and country.
Turkish Airlines has a route network connecting 128 countries and 329 cities from its hub in Istanbul.
KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC, Ravi Pillay, said that the reintroduction of these flights reopened business and tourism opportunities between Istanbul and Durban.
Pillay said the move also demonstrated the resilience of KZN’s tourism industry in spite of the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent floods.
Acting chief executive of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal and co-chairperson of Durban Direct, Phindile Makwakwa, said air services continued to play a critical role in ensuring ease of travel for tourists, thereby growing KZN’s tourism sector.
Makwakwa said locally, a resilient domestic market had been critical to the recovery of air travel in South Africa, with King Shaka International Airport passenger numbers breaching the 72% mark to date.
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