The industry is rejoicing following Wednesday’s Presidential announcement that South Africa will reopen its borders on October 1 but there will be many obstacles to overcome to revive the industry. The travel trade will be vital for the rebuilding process, say aviation and industry leaders.
“We thank our president profusely for this breakthrough that will allow our industry to return to making its important contribution to job creation and GDP. The industry is rejoicing, as this is a huge milestone for our sector,” said Barsa chairperson, Carla da Silva.
Carla cautions that there will still be a lot of work to be done by the sector, mentioning that travel agents will be critical in the role of restoring consumer confidence and ensuring that travellers are compliant in terms of safety and health protocols.
“We await the government’s list of permitted countries, as this will play a very important role on the level of operations and capacity introduced by airlines. While we expect traveller numbers to be slow initially until confidence and businesses are restored, I do believe that numbers will increase and that this sector will once again soar. The negative impact of job losses thus far has been devastating and businesses now need to almost start again, but we are hopeful that this can be achieved,” said Carla.
Oz Desai, gm Corporate Traveller had this to say. “We are ecstatic that a date has been announced for the reopening of international travel. It allows our customers to plan for the future and make provisions to visit their customers and offices around the world.” He said the announcement was the first step in a very long road to recovery. “We can expect capacity constraints in the aviation market as airlines need months of notice before they resume full capacity on routes,” he said.
KLM and Air France have already announced that they will resume their commercial flight schedule to and from South Africa from October 1. KLM will fly daily between Johannesburg and Amsterdam and will also reinstate four weekly flights between Cape Town and Amsterdam. Air France will fly five times a week between Johannesburg and Paris and, effective December, four times a week between Cape Town and Paris.
“The opening of the borders is the first step to revive the travel and tourism industry in South Africa and grow back to where we were a year ago. The next challenge will be to regain traveller confidence that flying is safe and that South Africa is safe. Together with all our partners in South Africa, travel agents and airlines alike, we will have to rebuild the infrastructure for people to travel internationally. Implementing the required measures and communicating about them to all customers out there is vital. A lot of damage has been done to the tourism industry. Now is the time to do all we can to revive it, driven by the industry and supported by government,” commented gm of Air France KLM Southern Africa, Wouter Vermeulen.
Mpumi Mpofu, ceo of Acsa, welcomed the announcement. “As has been the practice since March this year, we will be guided by specific regulations and directives from the Department of Transport and the regulating body, the South African Civil Aviation Authority, as they are published in the coming days. Our three international airports, OR Tambo, King Shaka and Cape Town, are ready to facilitate cross-border travel and will continue to adhere to the measures and protocols that have been in place for domestic travel over the past few months.” She urged travellers to be absolutely certain of their eligibility to fly before booking flights. “In particular, travellers are asked to download the Covid Alert South Africa mobile app.”
Speaking on behalf of Air Mauritius, as regional manager for Africa and Latin America, Carla added that Mauritius was also planning to open its borders on October 1, in a phased approach that would allow permanent residents, business travellers and long-stay leisure clients to travel in phase one. The second phase would then be announced by the prime minister, explained Carla. She said Air Mauritius was hoping to fly to Johannesburg once the above had been concluded and a list of permitted countries had been released by the Mauritian government. “At this stage there is no start date but we hope to have one shortly and to be able to return very soon.”
Marketing development manager of Singapore Airlines, Sally George, said the airline also hoped to resume operations to South Africa from October 1 and was looking into the reinstatement of its schedule.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said the tourism sector was one of the leading job creators in the Western Cape, and the resumption of international travel from October 1 would allow for international travel over the traditional peak summer season. “Maximum capacities for both indoor and outdoor gatherings have been increased to 50% capacity, with a maximum of 250 and 500 people respectively. This will allow for events, performances and conferencing to go ahead, which will support jobs in our conferencing, and creative sectors in the Western Cape.” He said he was happy the curfew had been moved back to midnight. “This will allow restaurants to run a full dinner service, while still allowing time for staff to get home safely.” He added that now, more than ever, everyone must take personal responsibility, wear masks, wash hands and maintain social distancing. “These are the strongest defences we have against COVID-19.”
Sun International Group coo, Hospitality, Graham Wood said the move to level 1 lockdown was a relief, especially relaxing the curfew, permitting leisure facilities to allow 50% of capacity, and allowing larger gatherings from midnight on September 20. “This means our entertainment and conferencing facilities can begin to operate again.”
