SAA to Fly Johannesburg-Abuja from January
South African Airways has revealed plans to commence direct flight operations into Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja from its base in Johannesburg, South Africa. The airline is starting the non-stop operations with three flights weekly, starting from January 26, 2016 with its modern Airbus 330- 200s aircraft.
Prior to the commencement of the Abuja route, the carrier was operating eight times a week into the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. With the additional three, the airline’s frequencies into Nigeria have increased to 11 weekly.
SAA’s Country Manager for Australasia, Tim Clyde-Smith, explained that Nigeria being the largest and one of the fastest-growing and in Africa has added considerably to business travel options to the country.
“We have seen significant growth in traffic to Nigeria recently, both as a destination in itself and as part of our growing West Africa network, so the addition of Abuja is good news,” he said.
“Enhancing air travel links with Nigeria also underlines the growth in bilateral relations between South Africa and Nigeria. The two countries historically have had strong economic, diplomatic, social and fraternal ties with both being economic powerhouses of Africa.”
The Abuja flights have been scheduled for seamless connectivity into SAA’s route network to and from international cities which means passengers can reach Abuja with one stop in Johannesburg.
With Abuja, SAA will now serve eight destinations in Central and West Africa, with flights from Johan- nesburg to Lagos (Nigeria); Abidjan (Ivory Coast); Cotonou (Benin); Accra (Ghana); Douala (Cameroon), Dakar (Senegal) and Libreville (Gabon) already forming part of the extensive regional route network.
“This new additional flight to Nigeria is great news and further evidence of SAA’s determination to be the best carrier in Africa catering to business, recreational, and VFR needs,” Clyde-Smith said.