Virgin Atlantic said it plans to resume its London – Johannesburg route from 15 September 2020.
Head of Middle East, Africa and India Virgin Atlantic Airways, Liezl Gericke, said that this date is dependent on the relevant government approval.
She explained that the airline wants to show its commitment to return to South Africa. She believes that the signs for a September reopening of borders are ‘very promising,’ according to Tourism Update.
Virgin Atlantic plans to resume passenger flights between London and Johannesburg in September.
‘Our intention is to gradually reintroduce flights. We are already servicing cargo flights four times a week out of Johannesburg and plan to initially introduce passenger services three times a week with the same overnight schedule that we operated prior to lockdown. We then want to slowly ramp this back up to a daily schedule, subject to demand. We will be operating a brand-new A350-1000 aircraft on the route,’ adds Gericke.
Earlier this year, airline also announced plans to reintroduce seasonal flights between London and Cape Town and said it still has every intention of instating this route before the end of the year.
In preparation for its return to passenger flights, Virgin Atlantic said its health and safety protocols are in order. Thorough cleaning practices at check-in, boarding gates and on board will be done, including the use of electrostatic spraying of high-grade disinfectant on board.
Image credit: Twitter/TourvestDM
