Airlink has applied to the International Air Services Council for rights to operate flights between Lanseria International Airport and two Zimbabwean airports.
The application requests an amendment to its certificate to operate two daily flights from Lanseria to Harare and one daily flight from Lanseria to Bulawayo.
According to aviation consultant, Sean Mendis, this is a strategic move by the airline to address demand and maximise the utilisation of its fleet.
“Airlink has got a huge number of the smaller Embraer 135s and 140s and it needs to find markets to deploy them profitably. It's very difficult to compete with the smaller 35- to 50-seat planes on the trunk routes (to and from OR Tambo International) without heavy frequencies,” said Mendis.
He explained that Lanseria was also a convenient option for those in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg to fly out of, as it was much closer than OR Tambo.
“Zimbabwe also has a significant amount of business traffic and this is supported by South Africa and Zimbabwe’s significantly liberalised air market. The agreement was initially signed in 2021 and it was phased in, but, as of last year, it allows for near open skies. Consequently, there's no longer restrictions in terms of how many frequencies each side can operate.”
