Fly Direct from Abu Dhabi to Cape Town

Cape Town Mayor Alderman Dan Plato, Welcomes Etihad Inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi

Etihad Airways will start a daily service from Abu Dhabi to Cape Town on 01 October 2009. The new service will operate daily, throughout the year, and has the potential to bring 48 000 visitors to the City of Cape Town annually.

Mansoor Mohamed, the City’s Executive Director for Economic, Social Development and Tourism, said: “The City of Cape Town has a strategy to position Cape Town as a globally competitive tourism destination. The introduction of another airline to Cape Town means more tourists and therefore more jobs for the people of Cape Town. The City will continue to partner with airlines such as Etihad that will help build our city into a more globally competitive business and leisure destination.”

Etihad Airways will aggressively promote the new Cape Town route throughout their network and this will boost tourism, business ties and investment in the city and the Western Cape. By launching the new Cape Town service, Etihad is reaffirming its commitment to South Africa and is making a multi-million dollar investment in Cape Town.

This will fill a major gap in airlift capacity into Cape Town during the peak season, while also stimulating traffic from the Middle East during the winter low season.

Executive Mayor Alderman Dan Plato, who was at the airport to welcome the inaugural Etihad flight EY602 from Abu Dhabi to Cape Town on Thursday 1 October 2009, said “I am very pleased that Cape Town, Africa’s leading tourism destination, is able to welcome the UAE’s national airline to Cape Town. This daily flight into Cape Town is a very important initiative for destination Cape Town.”

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