South African airline, CemAir continues its ambitious expansion drive and has emerged out of the corona crisis stronger than ever. The latest route expansion will connect the underserved Eastern Cape city pair of Gqeberha(previously Port Elizabeth) and East London as well as a service linking the Free state City of Bloemfontein. The service out of Gqeberha will come as a huge win for the city’s Airlift initiative which has been struggling to achieve its goal of adding air connectivity to the bay. Flights will start on the 6th of July
The initial schedule between Gqeberha and East London has been designed for a day visitor originating from either Gqeberha or East London with morning and afternoon return flights on a Tuesday and Thursday. Gate to gate time is approximately 45 minutes
The initial schedule between Gqeberha and Bloemfontein has been designed for a day visit to Bloemfontein from Gqeberha with a morning departure from Gqeberha and an afternoon departure from Bloemfontein on a Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Gate to gate time is approximately 1h 30min.
Flights will initially be operated on CemAir’s Beech 1900 aircraft.
The launch of these services is a joint initiative between The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Airports Company South Africa and CemAir.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality created the “Airlift Project” to identify and encourage direct flight services to additional city centres identifying the strategic importance of connectivity by schedule airline operators in achieving the overall economic growth goals of the city.
ACSA is the airport owner and operator and coordinated discussions between the Municipality and CemAir
Photo: @cecilenowers – CityofGqeberha
