The first Lufthansa flight to Cape Town, carrying holidaymakers and business travellers from Germany, landed on Thursday.
Flight LH 576 is the first commercial Lufthansa flight to Cape Town since the lifting of the international travel ban. It arrived at 10 am with a ceremonial water salute, having departed Frankfurt on October 7 at 10:15pm.
Lufthansa will be operating the Cape Town to Frankfurt direct service using an Airbus A340-300. LH 577 is a twice-weekly flight operating on Mondays and Fridays with all flights departing in the evening and landing at their destination in the morning.
Dr André Schulz, General Manager Southern Africa & East Africa Lufthansa Group Airlines, said the airline was pleased to resume flights to Cape Town.
"The Western Cape remains an attractive destination for European holidaymakers and as Lufthansa’s flight schedule to South African is now fully operational we remain committed to continuing to support the restart of international travel into South Africa as a major airline partner for the local tourism sector,” he said.
Tim Harris, CEO of Wesgro, said Lufthansa provided a vital connection to the German market, which is the second largest source market for travel to Cape Town International Airport, and an important trade and investment partner to the Western Cape.
Deon Cloete, General Manager Cape Town International Airport, said it is wonderful to welcome yet another familiar and long-serving airline partner back in the CTIA stable.
"The distinct Lufthansa colours and tail back on our ramp makes us mighty pleased. Welcome back second-largest are ready to efficiently and safely facilitate all airport passengers through our airport," said Cloete.
The other Lufthansa Group carriers are also resuming their operations into South Africa. Swiss International Air Lines resumed its commercial operation last week, a weekly nonstop service from Zurich to Johannesburg.
This flight carried businesspeople and essential service workers coming into South Africa for work purposes. Vienna based Austrian Airlines also recently announced their plans to resume their flight to Cape Town in mid-December 2020.