The City says Cape Town’s economy has been given a big boost with the news of the US’s Delta Air Lines finally getting the go-ahead from the South African government to fly a triangular route between Atlanta, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth James Vos says this approval is a long time coming, following extensive correspondence, and an intergovernmental dispute process, relating to how foreign operator permit applications are processed, which was initiated by the Western Cape Government.

As the world continues its efforts to recover from the pandemic, more and more international airlines have announced flights to and from Cape Town International Airport. Most recently, Air Belgium said it will start a seasonal route from September 2022, while Air Botswana, Emirates and KLM will all increase the frequency of their flights in the coming months.

The Delta route comes on top of the United Airlines announcement that it will be resuming direct flights between Cape Town and Newark/New York in June 2022, ahead of their initial schedule.

Over the past decade, the US has been the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment by value into the Western Cape – R19,68 billion and last year, the US was the number one country to export from the province.

The MEC for Finance David Maynier says the provincial government regards the approval of Delta Air Lines’ application as a big win and they will continue to work hard to expand “air access” because more flights means more tourists and more tourists means more jobs in the Western Cape.