from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
Western Cape Bureau
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – THE expansion plans by some airlines are poised to aid the recovery of the aviation sector in South Africa.
The Western Cape is in particular anticipating the benefits.
On Friday, FlyCemAir was to add a Cape Town – Kimberly route to its network, with three flights per week.
Ethiopian Airlines will add four additional frequencies to its Addis Ababa – Cape Town route. The service will operate 11 times per week, year-round from March 26.
Air Belgium will operate its twice weekly triangular Brussels-Cape Town- Brussels service as a year-round service from March 31.
“With a positive recovery seen in the Western Cape aviation sector in 2022, one can already look forward to continued growth for the province in 2023,” Melissa Taar, Marketing Strategic Projects official at Wesgro, stated.
Wesgro is the Western Cape’s tourism, trade and investment promotion agency.
The agency reported the domestic passenger recovery at Cape Town International Airport, which remained stable through the festive season and into the New Year, with January of 2023 recording a 74 percent passenger recovery when compared to the same period in 2019.
Overall, the domestic terminal recorded 515 000 two-way passengers passing through the terminal for the month.
For the full year, the domestic terminal processed 5,96 million two-way passengers, which equates to a recovery of 71 percent when compared to 2019.
Passenger performance at the international terminal continues to grow, with a record recovery of 97 percent in January, compared to 2019, with over 280 000 two-way passengers passing through the terminal.
George Airport’s passenger numbers had a significant uptick moving into the New Year with January recording an 84 percent recovery when compared to the same period in 2019.
The airport recorded over 63 000 two-way passengers for January.
For the full year, George Airport’s two-way passenger recovery reached 89 percent, compared to 2019, with 741 000 two-way passengers recorded.
– CAJ News