South African airline CemAir treated more than 150 senior citizens to their first-ever aircraft flight on July 6, as part of the annual Elders Flight event, held at the South African National Defence Force's Zwartkops Air Force Base in Centurion. 

The brainchild of pilot Felix Gosher, the Elders Flight first took place in 2018, with the goal of giving the elderly, including military veterans, an opportunity to take to the skies in various aircraft made available by sponsors and owners.

The 2024 event saw over 500 elderly people, including military veterans, arriving from local townships, care centres and churches. The honoured guests were flown throughout the day in over a dozen different aircraft types, ranging from small Cessnas, to helicopters and CemAir's Dash 8 Q400.

“The Elders Flight Day fittingly falls in Nelson Mandela International Month and marks one of the poignant Department of Defence's social responsibility programmes, highlighting the South African Air Force's relationship with different stakeholders across the aviation society and the senior citizens' community at large,” said Chief of the South African Air Force, Lieutenant General, Wiseman Mbambo,at the opening of the event.

Attendees were also treated to a mini-air show and given the chance to explore the South African Air Force Museum at the base.

Elderly citizen Patricia Modisakeng and her husband, Johannes, from the township of Mamelodi heard about the event through a friend at their church, and decided not to let the opportunity pass them by.

“My son dropped us off very early in the morning, and we were mesmerised just by being at a military base. We knew this was going to be life-changing. We wanted to be the first ones on the plane. Growing up, we never had enough money to travel in planes because we are from large families and a bus always seemed convenient,” said Modisakeng. 

The event ended with a ceremony which saw replica wings insignia being handed to the senior citizens and military veterans.