On Tuesday evening, 10 May 2022, Cape Town Air Access - the award-winning air-route development project responsible for establishing direct flights that connect Cape Town and the Western Cape with the rest of the world – held their Annual Review Showcase. The celebratory event was well-attended by key government partners, business stakeholders and airline professionals.
The team used the opportunity to highlight its achievements over the last year, in the face of adversity caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and also prompted an important discussion about what it must do to do to ensure it builds on these successes in the future.
Forming the focal point for proactive air route development in Cape Town and the Western Cape, the team assisted in re-launching flights to Cape Town International Airport from 23 international destinations, served by 18 international airlines during 2021. Domestically, connections to all 13 pre-pandemic destinations have been re-established for Cape Town International Airport, served by seven local airlines. Four airlines are also operating out of George Airport to three domestic destinations.
Highlights for the past year included:
- Flights to 11 out of 13 pre-pandemic African destinations have been re-established for Cape Town International Airport.
- The announcement that the AviaDev Africa route development conference 2022 will return to Cape Town for the third time from 29 June to 1 July, hosted by Cape Town Air Access, which will welcome 250 route development, representatives from 60 countries, including representatives from 40 airlines.
- Intercontinental flights to Cape Town are also at the forefront of more sustainable long-distance flights with almost 75% of carriers opting to operate new generation Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner's into the destination.
Opening the session, Wrenelle Stander, CEO of Wesgro and the Official Spokesperson for Cape Town Air Access, commented: "Going into 2021 we understood that we were competing in the global race for routes against major destinations around the world. The reestablishment of 23 international routes signifies our position as a competitive and attractive destination. Cape Town Air Access, along with partners, remains commitment to air route network recovery and contributing to economic recovery – which has been critical to the achievements we are seeing today. We are excited about the prospects of the coming year and the significance of greater air connectivity for the Western Cape's global competitiveness".
Deputy Director-General: Economic Development and Tourism, Western Cape Government, and Cape Town Air Access Co-Chair, Rashid Toefy, said: "The recovery of the Western Cape economy has been the key focus since the beginning of the pandemic, and securing non-stop direct flights to a set of strategic destinations across the world has been one of our main focus areas. Collaborative efforts such as Cape Town Air Access are an important aspect of the future growth of the Western Cape economy. The reconnection of air connectivity and the steady recovery of travel is a testament of the impact of collaborative effort."
About Cape Town Air Access:
Cape Town Air Access is an award-winning air-route development project, responsible for establishing direct flights that connect Cape Town and the Western Cape with the rest of the world.
The project is housed within Wesgro – the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape and is an impressive collaboration between six government entities – the Western Cape Government, City of Cape Town, Cape Town Tourism, South African Tourism, Airports Company South Africa and Wesgro – as well as selected private sector partners including Investec, DHL Global Forwarding and the V&A Waterfront.