The Cape Town airfreight
market is straining under a
lack of capacity following
a recent decision by SAA
to stop direct daily flights
from the city to London.
“Capacity is a major
issue at present,” said
Marius Small of Lonrho
Logistics. He told FTW
that they were at present
having to fly freight to
London via Johannesburg.
“At this stage it does not
have a cost implication but
direct flights are always
preferable especially for
the perishable market.”
Currently there is only
one flight a day from Cape
Town to London with
British Airways.
“We are however
very optimistic that the
challenges we are facing
at the moment will be
addressed when British
Airways launches a second
daily flight in October,”
said Small. “Virgin
Airways will also be
introducing a new service
between Cape Town and
London during October
which will add further
much-needed capacity.”
While London at
present can be reached
with other airlines such as
Emirates and Qatar from
Cape Town it is not really
favoured as it is via other
destinations.
“Many of our perishable
clients are not really in
favour of flying their
products via several
destinations and want the
direct option,” said Small.
“From Cape Town we need
at least two flights a day
into London to satisfy the
market demand.”
CAPTION
Second daily CT flight on the cards this month.
