Low-cost airline 1time will fly directly from Joburg to Mombasa in Kenya from March, it was announced at a launch in the East African resort destination last weekend.
The airline is already accepting bookings and offering package deals on its website. The service will see two flights a week from OR Tambo direct.
It already offers two weekly flights to Zanzibar, Tanzania, and five weekly flights to Livingstone, Zambia.
“We hope that the success in Zanzibar will be repeated in Mombasa owing to the many similarities of the two markets,” says Blacky Komani, group chief executive officer of 1time.
Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city after Nairobi, is becoming a favourite holiday destination, with its ideal setting that includes a tropical climate, water sport activities, golfing and the nearby Tsavo National Park.
Kenyan Tourism Minister Najib Balala said 34 000 South Africans had visited Mombasa in the past 11 months. The new flights would further boost numbers by between 200 and 300 passengers a week.
He gave an assurance that security had been beefed up since Somali militants kidnapped a French tourist and murdered her husband in Kenya’s far northern Lamu Island late last year.
“Tourism plays a significant role in the economy. We have put additional security in place and there have been police reforms.”
He said the government would also invest in infrastructure. They were building new roads and there were plans to build a bypass from the airport to the coast south of Mombasa to avoid the Likoni ferry crossing and the traffic-jammed drive through Mombasa city.
A return flight on 1time from Johannesburg to Mombasa will cost between R4 800 and R6 400 (US$600 to US$800) return, depending on seasonality and demand. - Weekend Argus