Since our previous communication, more domestic airports were approved by the Minister of Transport to be re-opened. The additional destinations include George, East London and Kimberley which Airlink serves from Cape Town. Services between Cape Town and George will be resumed on 3 August 2020. Airlink will be resuming services between Cape Town and East London on 17 August 2020 and between Cape Town and Kimberley on 18 August 2020.
In the next few weeks we are expecting more airports to be approved to be re-opened, including; Mthatha, Polokwane, Sishen and Hoedspruit. Unfortunately services between Johannesburg/ Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg/Upington will remain suspended for a short while longer due to low demand.
It is hard to reconcile that prior to our COVID-19 pandemic, Airlink’s network of 55 routes within the SADC subregion (and St Helena) was abuzz with daily activity. Our most frequently served destination was Nelspruit whose communities enjoyed seven return flights daily between Johannesburg and Kruger Mpumalanga International airport (KMI Airport), daily direct services to Cape Town, Durban, Vilanculos, Livingstone as well as Airlink’s Lodge Link service to several private commercial lodges.
The lockdown disrupted these services for an extended period, and phase 2 of the level 3 lockdown easing program saw the reopening of KMI Airport a few weeks ago. It will take time to restore the comprehensive air service system previously in place, and Airlink, while fully committed to delivering the best possible service to our customer, has to rebuild our service system responsibly and cost effectively, cautiously matching supply with demand and expenditure with revenue.
There cannot be a holistic approach to service restoration as there is no such concomitant market recovery given that most corporates have adopted an extremely careful approach to travel. Hence Airlink’s current service is aimed at encouraging our business customers to travel with us again and experience our COVID mitigating protocols throughout the air travel value chain first-hand so that confidence in air travel will be restored.
We have adjusted our flight timings between Johannesburg/Nelspruit from 17 August 2020 with an earlier departure to enhance customer convenience and better connectivity with our Cape Town and Port Elizabeth flights. The flight from Johannesburg to Nelspruit will depart at 12h15 arriving in Nelspruit at 13h05. The flight from Nelspruit will depart at 13h30 arriving in Johannesburg at 14h25 Mondays to Fridays.
We have worked hard together with our travel partners, especially the management of KMI Airport, in reducing our input costs as far as possible and to pass this benefit on to our customers. A special fare has been introduced to celebrate the restart of services between OR Tambo International and KMI Airport from R998 one way and R1 938 return all inclusive, terms & conditions apply. The service will be operated by our 37-seat Embraer ERj135 regional jet.
You have the freedom to book your flights direct online at www.flyairlink.com or via your travel agent. The Nelspruit Johannesburg flight has been re-timed to maximize connection opportunities for customers travelling onward on Airlink’s flights to destinations such as Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Airlink’s early morning flights from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg will connect with the 12h15 departure from Johannesburg to Nelspruit. We realize that a single daily service does not satisfy all your travel needs, especially those of our customers requiring to do same day return travel in either direction. We assure you that more services aimed to boost frequency and to satisfy your needs will be re-introduced as soon as possible.
Under the COVID-19 Level 3 travel restrictions, permitted travel includes: Essential or Business Travel; Caring for immediate family members; Obtaining medical treatment etc., and you can download your Forms on https://www.flyairlink.com/covid-19-travel-updates#healthandsafetyproto. We want you to feel safe and to fly with confidence when you fly with Airlink, it’s easier than you think.
Friends of Airlink
As a valued customer, we reach out to you and invite you to share your perceptions about Airlink. We are driven by the needs and feelings of our customers and will keep on refining our service to your satisfaction and to build customer confidence and trust in our brand. One topic that we would welcome your thoughts on is whether Airlink should be changing our traditional livery so as to distinguish us more definitively as a privately owned independent network regional airline. Please share your thoughts and suggestions with us on [email protected]