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Zimbabwean carrier, Rainbow Airlines, plans to enter South African skies with flights from Harare to Johannesburg and Cape Town. The Johannesburg-Harare service will launch in the last week of February and the thrice-weekly Cape Town-Harare service in the following months.
Ed Berry, CEO of Rainbow Airlines, says it will start with three flights a week to Johannesburg and aims to increase the service to twice-daily, excluding Saturdays. The flights will initially operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing Harare at 08h00 and arriving in Johannesburg at 09h40. The return flight will depart Johannesburg at 19h00 and arrive in Harare at 20h40.
The airline also launched a weekly flight between Harare and Victoria Falls on January 25. On Saturdays, the flight departs Harare at 09h00 and arrives at Victoria Falls at 10h00. The return flight departs Victoria Falls at 17h00 and arrives in Harare at 18h00.
Initially, Rainbow was expected to commence the Johannesburg flights on January 25 but an industry insider told Tourism Update that as the airline had not paid guarantees to OR Tambo International Airport, the flights could not launch.
But Berry says the guarantees have been paid and the airline has not yet finalised its slot times, which he hopes to have confirmed this week. He says the airline is in possession of a valid Foreign Operator Permit, which needs to be amended as it intends to use a different aircraft on the Johannesburg-Harare service than the one initially planned. The route will be operated by a Bombardier CRJ100 with 50 seats, which the airline is leasing from CemAir.
In 2015, the Department of Transport said it had accepted Rainbow Airlines’ application for designation to fly to South Africa, but that the airline had not applied for a Foreign Operator Permit.Should guests who had changed their bookings at Lower Sabie since the first advisory wish to revert to their original bookings, they can contact Lower Sabie directly.
Sourse: tourismupdate.co.za
