Air Belgium has signed a new commercial agreement with independent African airline, Airlink, which conveniently connects customers travelling to or from Brussels with 36 destinations across Southern Africa. 

This follows the recent inauguration of Air Belgium’s new service between Brussels, Johannesburg, and Cape Town, using the fuel-efficient Airbus A330neo aircraft. 

This first co-operation agreement between both companies offers Air Belgium customers the ability to purchase multi-sector journeys for flights operated by Air Belgium and Airlink on a single ticket. It includes the added ability for passengers to have their luggage checked through to their final destination when transiting through Johannesburg.   

 High demand

Commenting on the agreement, Niky Terzakis, CEO of Air Belgium, said: “South Africa is in high demand for Belgian and European travellers. We are delighted that our dynamic agreement with Airlink will allow us to offer our customers seamless connections to 12 popular South African leisure and business destinations such as the Kruger National Park, Durban and Gqeberha (formerly known as Port Elizabeth) as well as important business destinations like Kimberley, Bloemfontein and Richards Bay, amongst others. We’re also excited to be able to offer our passengers the possibility to travel to bucket-list destinations within the SADC region as well as the DRC.”  

Airlink CEO and MD, Rodger Foster, added: “Choice, reliability, top-quality service and convenience are Airlink hallmarks. Through this co-operative arrangement with Air Belgium, Airlink now offers convenient connections through Johannesburg and Cape Town, to Belgium, which, besides hosting the EU capital, is a leading gateway for visitors to Europe. It is also the heart of the international diamond trade and an important centre for industrial manufacturing, making it a crucial trading partner for many of the markets and countries we serve.”