Lufthansa flight LH576 touched down at Cape Town International Airport at 10h00 this morning (Thursday, October 8) at the start of the summer season in South Africa, signalling the resumption of its scheduled services between Cape Town and Frankfurt.

Lufthansa will operate the Frankfurt-Cape Town direct service twice a week using an Airbus A340-300. The flight will depart from Frankfurt on Sundays and Thursdays, landing in Cape Town the following morning.

“Lufthansa is pleased to be resuming flights to Cape Town, marking a return to our regular scheduled service between South Africa and Germany, following last week’s flight between Frankfurt and Johannesburg, which was the first international long-haul flight to return to South Africa. The Western Cape remains an attractive destination for European holidaymakers and, as Lufthansa’s flight schedule to South Africa is now fully operational, we remain committed to continuing to support the restart of international travel into South Africa as a major airline partner for the local tourism sector,” said Dr André Schulz, GM Southern Africa & East Africa Lufthansa Group Airlines.

Tim Harris, CEO of Wesgro, said Lufthansa provided a vital connection to the German market, the second-largest source market for travel to Cape Town International Airport, and an important trade and investment partner for the Western Cape. “Cape Town and the Western Cape are open. We're confident the destination is ready and we welcome the world back to enjoy our province safely."

Swiss International Air Lines resumed operations last week with a once-weekly non-stop service from Zurich to Johannesburg, and Austrian Airlines recently announced plans to resume flights to Cape Town in mid-December. Both airlines are part of the Lufthansa Group.

Industry is reminded that for clients arriving from Germany, Lufthansa and its partners offer COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction tests at walk-in testing centres in Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg airports. Results are delivered within a few hours. Passengers can register beforehand online at lufthansa.com, prior to arrival.