BULAWAYO – Two airlines began flights between Johannesburg and Bulawayo this week in a major boon for Zimbabwe’s second city.
Budget airline FastJet launched its service on Thursday, before SA Express began flights on Friday after an earlier abortive launch last month.
The two airlines are targeting the busy Christmas period to cement their positions on the route as hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans return home from abroad.
FastJet will fly daily from Bulawayo to Johannesburg every morning, with the return flight in the evening.
On some days, there will be two flights. In total, the airline says it will run 11 return flights every week.
FastJet has established a maintenance centre at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport, allowing its aircraft to position in Bulawayo overnight for the morning flight.
SA Express announced daily flights to Bulawayo from Johannesburg starting on November 18, but the service was temporarily discontinued after one flight.
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport manager Passmore Dewa said they stopped SA Express from flying “over regulatory issues.”
“I’m happy to say they are now in compliance after obtaining a flight permit and should be resuming flights today,” Dewa said on Friday.
The Johannesburg-Bulawayo route has for a long time been serviced by Air Zimbabwe and SA Airlink, but with Air Zimbabwe suffering an aircraft shortage, SA Airlink have almost been enjoying a monopoly.
Air Zimbabwe takes bookings on the route, but passengers have to go via Victoria Falls and Harare on the outbound flight, and return via Harare on the incoming flight. The national carrier has just one plane in service.
