Dear guests, business partners and colleagues [list any dignitaries]

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us here to mark the inauguration of our new direct Durban-Harare air service.

Before I talk about the significance of this new route, it is important to consider the context and situation we find ourselves in today.

Two years ago, the world as we knew it was turned upside down as governments around the globe moved swiftly to try and contain and stop the spread of COVID-19.   As in most countries, we counted the toll in terms of lives lost, hospitalisations, restrictions on social interaction and devastating economic and industrial disruptions.  According to the most recent unemployment figures, more than two million jobs were lost across South Africa’s economy as a direct result of these measures.

During this time, Airlink, along with other airlines and partners in the air transport industry’s value and supply chains, faced an existential crisis.  For Airlink, this crisis was compounded by the collapse of our long-standing commercial franchise partner, SAA, which just preceded the pandemic.

Others in our position may have thrown in the towel, but we have never lost faith in South Africa, the SADC region or the resilience of everyone who lives here.   Instead, we took full advantage of the lockdown hiatus to redefine, reorganise and rebrand Airlink.  Our shareholders reaffirmed their belief and confidence in Airlink and we re-emerged as a totally independent, agile, financially robust and customer-centric business. 

Airlink’s current network and schedule sees our fleet of more than 50 modern and reliable airliners serving 45 destinations in Southern and Eastern Africa and as far afield as St Helena and Ascension islands in the South Atlantic.  We also now compete on South Africa’s main domestic trunk routes and we have forged new commercial partnerships with many of the world’s leading long-haul airlines.

Nevertheless, the past year brought additional tests in the form of renewed travel restrictions in response to the discovery of the Omicron variant.   But by far the biggest test of our resolve and commitment to the Durban, Pietermaritzburg and KZN markets were the transport blockades along with the riots, looting and vandalism that swept through this region last July.  According to eThekweni Municipal data, in Durban alone almost 8,000 people lost their jobs, another 80,000 jobs remain at risk and roughly R60 billion went up in smoke through lost sales, stock, equipment and machinery. 

Our decision to expand our operations in KwaZulu Natal, with Durban, Pietermaritzburg – and hopefully again soon to Richards Bay – speaks to our undiminished faith in the region.  There is no denying it’s importance and position as South Africa’s second largest productive province, with a gross value-added contribution of R716,6 million in 2019, or about 16% of the country’s total GVA.   According to eThekwini Municipality, Durban’s GDP this year marginally outperform 2019 levels.  Economists point to financial services, manufacturing and trade as major growth sectors. 

However, Tourism is still recovering and remains far short of 2019 visitor and occupancy levels.   As my Dube Trade Port and ACSA colleagues can confirm, air traffic to and from King Shaka International Airport has only recovered to just more than a third of pre-pandemic levels.

 It is this context that today’s launch of our new Durban-Harare service takes on added significance.

 It recognises the deep business, tourism and private connections that exist between the eThekwini and KwaZulu-Natal coastal centres on one side, with Harare and most of Zimbabwe’s economic and urban nodes on the other.  Although these have historical roots, they also reflect the dynamism and entrepreneurship that characterises the vibrant trade between the two markets.  

 However, it was an under-served market in need of support, which is why Airlink stepped in.  Visitors arriving at King Shaka International from Zimbabwe peaked at 36 879 in 2018 but began falling in 2019 and have halved since then.   We believe that the convenience, appeal and affordability of direct flights will stimulate travel between the two cities and will promote additional economic activity, including trade, tourism and investment in and around Durban and nearby coastal towns.

 Many of you may have read or heard that Airlink recently launched other routes that will enhance eThekwini’s and KwaZulu-Natal’s economic and tourism competitiveness.   They include our new double-daily Durban - Gqeberha service and just yesterday we resumed direct flights between King Shaka International Airport and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport near Mbombela (formerly, Nelspruit).

 They describe the importance we attach to the eThekwini/KZN market and our confidence in its potential.  It is a potential that Airlink, by providing convenient, reliable and affordable air connectivity for passengers and the cargo shipments, is ready to realise.   We will do this working in close collaboration with our partners, which include Dube Tradeport, ACSA, Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal, SA Tourism, eThekwini Municipality, the KZN Provincial Government, the myriad of private sector businesses and our customers.

Thank you.