This article has been updated since publication. The original article quote Chief Executive of Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The quote was missourced and out of context. The quotation has been removed.

International passenger numbers into Durban’s King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) grew by 11% for the 2019 period ending September compared with the same period in 2018

“The collaborative efforts by Durban’s tourism stakeholders to bring more direct international flights to the capital city of KwaZulu Natal are bearing fruit and the provincial government hopes past successes will encourage more airlines to adopt direct routes,” said KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

According to her, British Airways’ decision to launch three weekly direct flights between Durban and London just over a year ago, played a big role in boosting numbers. “It is gratifying to see the growing local and international demand for the direct flights provided by BA and Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines,” she said.

The increased flights are the results of the KZN Airport strategy which was formulated to attract more airlines into the province and strengthen existing relationships with current airlines.

CEO of Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone, Hamish Erskine, pointed out that “a huge amount of work” had been undertaken by a number of role-players to promote new route development, which was “paying dividends in terms of passengers and cargo volumes”.

“These numbers prove that there is an untapped demand for direct air services into and out of Durban. It is notable that the UK ranked number one out of the top five international passenger markets for 2019, no doubt the result of the direct BA flight to London,” he noted.