Airlink strengthens its presence in Mozambique with the opening of a route between CPT and MPM
Mozambique is Airlink's most important international market in terms of services. Today, the South African private carrier is helping to boost economic exchanges (USD 3.8 billion in 2020) between these two neighbouring countries in southern Africa.
Airlink's Mozambican network benefits from a new route. Cape Town - Maputo, as it is called, has been operational since Wednesday 31 August 2022. The first flight took off from Cape Town at 17:10 and arrived in Maputo at 19:40. The return flight took place today. The corridor is served three times a week (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays), with a 37-seat Embraer 135, and without competition.
"With this new Cape Town-Maputo service, Airlink is more than halving the travel time between two of the region's major cities. By making it easier and more efficient for people to do business, Airlink will help open up new opportunities to boost trade and tourism between the two markets," says CEO Rodger Foster in a statement.
"This addition increases the carrier's extensive regional network to a total of six destinations and 51 frequencies per week, making Airlink the carrier with the most cross-border frequencies operating from Cape Town. Maputo is a major destination from Cape Town, with over 21 500 international passengers (return) recorded in 2019," says Wrenelle Stander, CEO of Wesgro, the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for the Cape and Western Cape.
In Mozambique, Airlink also serves Maputo, Beira, Nampula, Pemba, Tete and Vilanculos from Johannesburg and Mbombela/Nelspruit. The opening of the Cape Town - Maputo corridor is part of the South African private airline's strategy to increase its routes from Cape Town, particularly to key commercial and tourist destinations in Southern Africa.
In addition to Maputo, it already offers direct flights from Cape Town to Windhoek and Walvis Bay in Namibia, Harare and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Maun in Botswana. "These services are scheduled to provide convenient connections to Airlink's extensive South African domestic network, as well as to long-haul flights operated by its various global carrier partners," says Airlink.
