• FlySafair will launch flights between Johannesburg and Victoria Falls, increasing connectivity and convenience for travelers visiting the popular tourist destination in Zimbabwe.
• The addition of Victoria Falls as a destination is critical for FlySafair’s expansion as it is also an important economic hub that has seen significant post-pandemic recovery.
• In addition to Victoria Falls, FlySafair has also been granted rights to operate flights to Harare International Airport and will introduce flights to Livingstone and Maputo.

South Africa’s leading low-cost carrier FlySafair will launch flights between Johannesburg and Victoria Falls this October. The service was much anticipated as the airline applied to the Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) last year to open various regional routes.

Flying into Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls will become the LCC’s second destination in neighboring Zimbabwe and is one of four that it will launch going into the summer season. The introduction of these flights follows the approval and granting of a Foreign Operator’s Permit (FOP) by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) on August 1.

The FOP allows the South African-registered airline to operate passenger and cargo services in and out of Victoria Falls as CAAZ seeks to enhance the country’s aviation sector. FlySafair will introduce a non-stop service between Johannesburg OR Tambo (JNB) and Victoria Falls International Airport (VFA) on October 3, 2023, operated with the Boeing 737.

The flights are now available on the carrier’s website and will be operated up to three times a week throughout the year. The schedule is as follows, with all times in CAT:

Flight	Route	Day	Time
FA754	JNB-VFA	Tue, Thu, Sat	12:35 – 14:20
FA755	VFA-JNB	Tue, Thu, Sat	15:20 – 17:00

Following Comair’s liquidation and departure from the regional market, FlySafair added up to eight narrowbody aircraft and applied to the ASLC for rights to operate flights to several regional destinations. It also applied to increase frequencies on routes it was already serving, which helped to fill the significant gap left by Comair’s departure.

The importance of this destination

Finally, FlySafair has been permitted to fly to VFA, which will be critical for the airline’s expansion and air travel in the region. Not only is Victoria Falls a convenient connection, given its proximity to the carrier’s hub, but it is also in high demand as one of Africa’s most visited cities. It is an important tourist destination, and traffic will surely increase in summer as it is the best time to visit the majestic falls.

In addition to tourism, the city has also become an important economic hub. Last year, the Ministry of Finance designated the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone as an international financial services center catering to customers outside the jurisdiction of the local economy. It is also home to Zimbabwe’s second stock exchange, the Victoria Falls stock exchange (VFSE).

As such, it is becoming increasingly popular, seeing tremendous post-pandemic recovery. With the addition of FlySafair, VFA will be served by nine carriers this summer, with seven being international. These include Air Zimbabwe, Fastjet, Airlink, Cemair, FlySafair, South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, and Eurowings Discover.

CAAZ has also given South Africa’s Cemair the green light to fly to VFA and will launch four weekly Bombardier CRJ flights from JNB. This makes the JNB-VFA route highly competitive, with four carriers operating scheduled flights. However, FlySafair, as an LCC, has the potential to see a lot of traffic with its significantly lower fares.

Other destinations

In addition to Victoria Falls, CAAZ has granted Safair rights to operate passenger and cargo flights to Harare International Airport (HRE). A number of regional carriers also serve this route, and it is one of Southern Africa’s busiest. CAAZ Director General Elijah Chingosho said;

“As the aviation regulator, we are fully committed to the growth of the aviation industry, positioning our economy for more trade, investment, and tourism. Granting FOPs to these airlines will provide substantial benefits to the passenger, such as fare savings, increased connectivity, and more frequencies resulting in greater convenience and time savings.”

FlySafair will operate daily Boeing 737 flights between JNB and HRE. The inaugural flight will depart JNB on October 2 at 07:20 and arrive at HRE at 09:00 local time. The return flight will depart HRE at 10:00 and arrive at JNB at 11:40. The schedule will continue like this throughout the year, with December expected to get busier.

The budget airline will also launch flights out of Johannesburg to Zambia’s Livingstone (LVI) on October 2 with a 4x weekly service. Lastly, it will introduce Maputo (MPM) flights three days later, which will also be operated four times a week. As per the map above, FlySafair will now serve six destinations outside its regional network.