FlySafair has added flights to their schedule to help people who want to leave Durban as well as deliver much-needed aid to the city.
South Africa (16 July 2021) – The unrest in KZN led to the closure of all major roads. This meant that no aid or support was able to get into the province. FlySafair has come to the party, scheduling more flights to and from Durban with the options of an additional free bag for people supplying aid to Durban.
To start, the airline started helping several charitable organisations to transport goods such as food and medical supplies into Durban. The airline saw a need for additional flights for people wanting to leave the area as well as people trying to get to the area.
So far they have added 38 flights to and from Durban, going to Cape Town, East London, Gqeberha and Johannesburg. People on these flights are allowed to take an extra bag along.
FlySafair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kirby Gordon spoke to the Travel Reporter and explained how the airline is taking on the additional flights and cargo capacity.
“Demand for air travel overall is still deeply depressed, but there is clearly a need for additional capacity for both cargo and passenger seats into and out of KZN this week,” – Kirby Gordon
“We have some limited capacity in the belly of the aircraft to carry cargo into the province. Our staff have all contributed to helping people in the area and we’re assisting various other charitable groups in moving required goods and services, including essential things like food, medical provisions and yeast to secure bread supplies.”
Elmar Conradie, CEO of FlySafair spoke to Bruce Whitfield and confirmed that the first flight sold out in less than an hour.
While the flights have enabled people to escape Durban during this time, they are also being used to do some good in the city. It is this good that pushed FlySafair to enable more flights.
“The people in Durban don’t have food, they’re looking for places to buy food! At first, it was just a question of how do we get food to our own staff… then more and more calls from companies about helping…” – Elmar Conradie, CEO – FlySafair
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