Approval of Delta Air Lines flight to Cape Town critical for economic recovery in the Western Cape
We are concerned that the application by Delta Air Lines to the Department of Transport to add a stop to Cape Town International Airport on its Atlanta-Johannesburg service has been pending for over 12 months.
This matter was brought to my attention several weeks ago and since then I have been actively engaged in the matter, given the critical importance of the Cape Town route for tourist and business connections from the United States (U.S.) to the Western Cape.
To this end, I wrote to the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula on 13 May 2021 requesting that the Minister urgently review and approve the application for the triangular Atlanta - Johannesburg - Cape Town route and I wrote to the Minister of Tourism, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane on 17 May 2021 to ask her to take up the matter with the Department of Transport given the importance of the route for tourism recovery in South Africa.
I have since received a reply from Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane indicating that her department are in ‘intensive discussions’ with the Department of Transport on this matter.
We have also engaged regularly over the past several weeks with all stakeholders involved in the matter, including representatives from Delta Air Lines, the U.S. Consulate General and Cape Town Air Access, to ensure that every possible angle could be pursued in resolving this matter.