Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has launched flights to Cape Town, South Africa’s second most populous city and the country’s leading tourist destination, from its Abu Dhabi home-base.
The new flights operate via the airline’s current daily Airbus A330 service to South Africa’s commercial capital Johannesburg.
Cape Town is Etihad’s second destination in South Africa and its fifth on the African continent, joining Khartoum, Cairo and Casablanca.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “South Africa is a leading global destination of choice for tourism and commerce and we are thrilled to launch a daily service to Cape Town, our second city in the country.
“In addition to the strong demand for flights from expatriate South African nationals, business and leisure travellers, many thousands of football fans are expected to travel there next year when South Africa hosts the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”
The new Cape Town service is expected to be welcomed by the South African expatriate community living in the UAE which now stands at approximately 40,000 people.
Many more South African nationals live across the Middle East region and also will be able to connect quickly and easily to home via Abu Dhabi.