Task team examines CT's int'l flight needs

Ray Smuts
THE WESTERN Cape government has moved into high gear to ensure more international flights for Cape Town by appointing a top-level task team to probe the matter.
The indictment has often been levelled by the freight industry, tourist operators and others depending on airlines for their livelihood, that the Mother City is in dire need of more international flights. Expectations are that if the task team succeeds in its directive, direct non-stop flights to an increasing number of world capitals could soon become a reality.
The province's Minister of Agriculture, Tourism and Gambling Johan Gelderblom said last week that international and domestic flights into Cape Town were of vital importance to the tourism industry.
However, dependence on these flights goes beyond tourism as government and business leaders are unlikely to succeed in attracting new trade and investments to the province without improved schedules.
The task team headed by Laurine Platzky, acting head of the provincial government's Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture, is likely to comprise representatives from the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut, Cape Town International Airport and the Western Cape Tourism Board among others.
Platzsky points out that flights carry not only passengers but cargo, and along with it the possibility of fly-in visitors liking what they see and deciding to invest.