European airlines Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said they are ready to resume their operations to South Africa, following President Ramaphosa’s announcement that South Africa’s borders will reopen on October 1.
‘We are very happy with the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that scheduled flights can resume shortly. Now that the borders are open again, we are very excited to resume commercial operations to and from Johannesburg and Cape Town,’ said Wouter Vermeulen, general manager: Southern African Region at Air France KLM, in a statement.
KLM and Air France say they are ready to visit South Africa again.
He added that the airline is ready to welcome passengers in a COVID-19-safe way, with stringent health measure put in place. These include the mandatory wearing of face masks by passengers and crew, readily available sanitiser and thorough and regular disinfecting of the cabins.
‘Now that we are allowed to take to the skies for commercial flights, we look forward to welcoming our passengers back on board and to contribute toward the revival and success of the aviation business and tourism industry in South Africa,’ Vermeulen added.
Other countries are expected to follow suit, however, travel to and from certain countries will be prohibited based on their COVID-19 infection rates. The list of countries has not been released yet.
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