Julius Baumann
24 July 2008
Johannesburg — KWAZULU-NATAL Tourism Authority and Airports Company SA are going all out to attract long-haul international airlines to the new Durban International Airport at La Mercy and are using attractive incentives to entice them.
However, the sky-high fuel price and slow economy are making their task extremely difficult, with many airlines cutting back on capacity or preferring to add flights to more established centres such as Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport.
Ndabo Khoza, CEO of the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Authority, said while the current economic conditions had hindered the province's drive to attract airlines to La Mercy, he believed the situation would improve in the next two years.
"The economic situation is not permanent and we will continue lobbying airlines to add Durban to their networks," said Khoza.
Earlier this year, Emirates announced it would be adding daily flights to Durban from December, but last month pulled the plug on those plans. "Although demand on our Durban route was strong and well received, the high fuel price has forced us to (re-evaluate) our route operations," said Fouad Caunhye, Emirates' regional manager for southern Africa.
Another obstacle facing the initiative was restrictive bilateral air policy agreements that made it virtually impossible for airlines to operate commercially viable flights from Durban.
Khoza said the tourism authority would continue to push for more air access to SA, and KwaZulu-Natal in particular, in a bid to grow the province's slice of the international tourism market.
"At the end of the day, if the capacity is there we can create the demand and make the Durban route a sustainable one," said Khoza.
While reluctant to give details of any incentives offered to airlines, he said that any route would be supported by a strong marketing campaign.
Durban has a large presence of domestic and regional carriers but there is no long-haul international airline represented at the city's airport.
The La Mercy airport is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2010, boasting an ultramodern terminal.
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