New international routes taking off from Joburg and Cape Town this summer

SA’s airports are gearing up for a busy summer season, as foreign travellers look to Mzansi’s sunny climes to escape the northern hemisphere’s winter of discontent. To fly all those swallows south, global airlines are increasing services or introducing new routes to SA airports. And while the focus is on inbound travellers, the new flights equally offer a unique opportunity for South Africans to head north, swapping ZA for Zurich, Washington or Brussels.

The newest carrier to touch down is Air Belgium, which made its debut on SA soil on September 15, launching a handy triangular route connecting Cape Town and Brussels, with a short stop in Johannesburg. Flights depart SA on Mondays and Thursdays, and tickets include a generous 30kg baggage allowance. While you’re in Brussels, look out for the charming Lightopia Festival, Europe’s biggest lantern and light festival, which sets up at the 17th-century Grand Bigard castle outside Brussels from November 18 to January 8 2023.

There’s an undeniable charm to Europe in the wintertime, and the famed Christmas markets of central Europe should certainly be on your bucket list. And while Germans flock to our beaches, Lufthansa is whisking South Africans to the markets of Munich with a new weekly seasonal service from Cape Town to the capital of Bavaria.

Munich’s Christkindlmarkt, on Marienplatz square, dates to the 14th-century and is considered one of the finest in Europe. But once you’ve decorated the tree with traditional trinkets, don’t miss the epicurean attractions of the Viktualienmarkt, a dedicated food market just a short walk to the south.

Indeed, the Lufthansa group of airlines looks set to become a regular fixture on the aprons of local airports this summer.

Alongside Lufthansa’s local flights — which also include services to Frankfurt — their leisure-focused Edelweiss airline will also return to Cape Town for the summer. Look forward to three flights per week over the season, offering direct flights to Zurich. Edelweiss offers easy connections to dozens of destinations across Europe, but Zurich is a convenient option to reach the ski slopes. Here you’ll want to look no further than the region of Andermatt, which recently enjoyed a $2bn upgrade to its hotels, restaurants and ski slopes. Once a sleepy village, it has become the hottest new destination on the snowy slopes of Switzerland.

Prefer the bright lights of the city? It’s easier than ever to reach London this year. British Airways is piling on more flights, and Virgin Atlantic finally returns to Cape Town with a direct service from November 5.

Now that royal fervour has died down, it’s a fine time to soak up all that London has to offer. Even if you can’t afford a room, do stop for a drink at Raffles London at OWO. It’s due to open in late-2022 in the stately Whitehall pile that is the Old War Office. Fun fact? It was while working in these walls that Ian Fleming first came up with the idea for the hero of his spy novels. The name? Bond. James Bond.

It’s not all about flying to Europe though.

A curious fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic was the shift in key source markets for tourists to SA. As Europeans stayed home due to lockdowns, the more relaxed restrictions on Americans saw US numbers spike. That has been one of the drivers behind a surge in new capacity on flights from the US.

While Delta Air Lines will finally launch its new triangular route from Atlanta to Cape Town, via Johannesburg, on December 2, it is United Airlines that is leading the charge. United currently has more flights to SA than any other North American airline, connecting Cape Town and Johannesburg with year-round direct flights to New York. And because they’ve dedicated a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to the routes, passengers up at the sharp end get to fly in the comfort of United’s impressive Polaris business class product.

The same goes for new United flights launching on November 17: the first direct route from Washington DC to Cape Town. It’s the perfect reason to plan a visit to the city’s Smithsonian Institution. This museum and research complex is made up of 17 museums and galleries, housing more than 150-million objects, works of art and specimens. The flagship National Air and Space Museum is halfway through a mammoth seven-year restoration programme, that sees all 23 exhibition spaces overhauled. Half of the museum will be open by the time direct flights launch, including eight new and upgraded exhibitions.

Another new addition not to miss is the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It’s a striking architectural work, set on the National Mall, and the country’s only museum devoted exclusively to recording African American art, history and culture.

So much to see and so many ways to get there. So start saving, and get your visa applications rolling to make the most of a flurry of new flights taking off this summer.