Eurowings Discover, Lufthansa’s luxury travel brand, is the first intercontinental airline ever to start scheduled operations to South Africa’s largest national park. In its first season, between 15 November 2022 and 25 March 2023 Eurowings Discover will fly three times a week from Frankfurt to Mbombela, Kruger National Park, with a short stopover in Windhoek.
Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport is the seventh destination offered by Eurowings Discover on the continent after already starting services from Frankfurt to Mombasa, Zanzibar, Mauritius and Windhoek, followed later by Victoria Falls and Kilimanjaro. “We are very excited to be commencing scheduled flights to greater Kruger National Park region as the first intercontinental airline ever. Not only is it a truly unique destination but it also marks the first South African destination in our portfolio – needless to emphasize the attractiveness and popularity of South Africa among European holidaymakers.
“Our booking figures show that travelers from all over Europe are increasingly drawn to the vastness and beauty of the African continent. We are therefore relying on a versatile Africa program this year and will continue to expand it in the future,” explains Helmut Woelfel, Chief Commercial Officer of Eurowings Discover.
Grant Ponting, CEO of KMI Airport, added: “We at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, are incredibly excited about Eurowings Discover’s new service starting in November 2022. Germany is one of Mpumalanga’s key tourist markets and along with all our stakeholders and provincial partners we are proud of our role in enabling this route development. This service from Frankfurt to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport also opens possible onward connectivity opportunities to other domestic and regional tourist destinations for our visitors.
Johannes Nobunga, CEO of Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency said the Agency welcomes the fulfilment of the dream of landing our first direct overseas flight from Europe, Frankfurt in Germany. “This is a game changing achievement as we intensify the implementation of the Mpumalanga Tourism Recovery Plan after the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry. The success and growth of this route depends on the support we give as the government and all industry roll players. We look forward to providing our tourists with a memorable experience of wildlife, scenic beauty, adventure, culture and heritage”.
The aircraft offers up to 300 seats, up to 30 of which are in Business Class (lie-flat seats), up to 31 in Premium Economy and up to 244 in Economy.
Picture: Marsel van Oosten
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