Cape Town - The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government has welcomed the recent approval of the Delta Air Lines triangular route.
Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier welcomed the news that the US airlines to fly between Atlanta, Johannesburg and Cape Town has finally been approved by the national government, following extensive correspondence and an intergovernmental dispute process relating to how foreign operator permit applications are processed, initiated by the provincial government.
Maynier said the intergovernmental dispute process is ongoing to ensure that all foreign operator permit applications are processed in accordance with existing national policy, legislation and agreements; and to ensure that all foreign operator permit applications are processed by the responsible person, which in this case is the chairperson of the International Air Services Council, with administrative support from the National Department of Transport.
“We regard the approval of Delta Air Lines’ application to fly a triangular route between Atlanta, Johannesburg and Cape Town as a big win and we will continue to work hard to expand ‘air access’ because more flights means more tourists and more tourists means more jobs in the Western Cape,” Maynier said.
Mayco member for Economic Growth James Vos said more and more international airlines have announced flights to and from Cape Town International Airport.
“Most recently, Air Belgium said it will start a seasonal route from September 2022, while Air Botswana, Emirates and KLM will all increase the frequency of their flights in the coming months.
“The Delta route comes on top of the United Airlines announcement that it will be resuming direct flights between Cape Town and Newark/New York in June 2022, ahead of their initial schedule,” Vos said.
Over the past decade, the United States has been the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment by value into the Western Cape - R19.68 billion and last year, the United States was the number one country to export to from the province.