The Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, said he welcomed the inaugural Lufthansa direct flight from Munich to Johannesburg.

Flight LH578 departed Munich, Germany, on Monday evening and touched-down at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Tuesday morning.

Lufthansa will operate three weekly flights between Johannesburg and Munich, operating its new state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900, with 293 seats on board offered across three cabin classes: Economy, Premium Economy, and Business Class.

The department said destination Gauteng, like many other destinations in the world, experienced a severe loss of airlift and new routes development work at the height of the Covid-19 global pandemic.

Together with their marketing partners, the Gauteng Department of Economic Development has implemented a protracted programme of air routes development, aggressive recruitment of new airline routes into the destination’s main international airports and support for freight, cargo and film crews, private charters, and medical rescue services.

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), whose aim is to provide a unitary interface for government engagement with private businesses in the travel and tourism sector, supported this targeted work by the Gauteng Provincial Government in improving airlift capacity in the province.

The development said with their R5 million injection, they managed to power their marketing and co-ordination work resulting in the province welcoming new routes from Sao Paulo in Brazil, Abidjan in Ivory Coast, Lusaka in Zambia, Perth in Australia, eSwatini Airways, Qantas Airline and now Munich in Germany.

Lufthansa, the flag carrier of Germany, ranks second in Europe and is one of the biggest airlines in the world. While it has operations in South Africa, until now, the airline did not have a direct flight between Johannesburg and Munich, the capital of the German state of Bavaria.

“The significance of this route to the Gauteng provincial economy is incalculable. Munich, the third largest metropolitan region in the EU by gross domestic product (GDP) is the nerve-centre of the south German economy and a global city that serves as the headquarters for many international companies in the manufacturing, finance, telecommunications, automotive, media and logistics sectors.

“This new direct Johannesburg-Munich flight brings better connectivity to corporate companies whose headquarters are in southern Germany, facilitating the further economic development and strong business relations between Germany and South Africa in general, and the Gauteng City Region in particular,” said Castro Ngobese, spokesperson for the MEC of Finance and Economic Development.

Ngobese said the launch of the inaugural Lufthansa direct flight between Johannesburg and Munich is happening during the Tourism Month, a period dedicated to shining a spotlight on tourism, its impact on the economy and livelihood.

“Munich is a particularly popular destination among tourists visiting Germany, as such, this direct flight will offer residents of Gauteng and South Africa broadly, an opportunity to explore the world with greater ease.

“Destination Gauteng is also positioned to welcome more international tourists from Germany and the broader European Union, where they will explore and enjoy the many diverse tourism offerings that the province has to offer including paleo-sciences, gastronomy, sports tourism, and quality township tourism experiences,” he said.

In 2022 German international arrivals to South Africa was at 173 146 and rose exponentially to 245 259 in 2023 with majority visiting the golden province of Gauteng.

“The Gauteng Department of Economic Development will continue to prioritise the unlocking of economic opportunities for the province through partnerships with regional and international companies, ensuring that local businesses and residents benefit from these interventions and the cost of doing business is severely reduced,” said Ngobese.

The Star

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