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There’s good news for travellers looking to head out of Cape Town via Dubai, as Emirates plans to add three weekly flights between Cape Town and Dubai as of 20 April. That will bring its schedule from seven to 10 flights a week, as travel demand begins to recover after weeks of disruption linked to the Iran war.
The new flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. EK772 departs Dubai at 3.45am and arrives in Cape Town at 11.30am, while EK773 leaves Cape Town at 1.15pm and lands in Dubai at 12.35am the following day. That’s handy timing for late-night connections at Dubai.
The increase follows a turbulent stretch for airlines operating through the Gulf. Although a ceasefire in the Iran war was announced on 7 April, aviation across the Middle East is still recovering, with carriers continuing to rebuild schedules and restore capacity. In March, Emirates shifted to a limited schedule on the Cape Town route, as regional airspace disruption upended normal operations. Qatar Airways has also been adjusting its South African operation, and is slowly rebuilding its capacity into Cape Town, currently offering one daily flight from Cape Town to Doha.
But the recent volatility has created opportunity for other carriers. Earlier this month, Ethiopian Airlines increased its Cape Town-Addis Ababa service to double-daily, expanding access to its 145-destination network and giving local travellers another strong one-stop option to Europe, North America, Asia and the rest of Africa.
Dubai and Doha remain two of the city’s most important global hubs, and changes on those routes have a direct impact on how easily – and affordably – Capetonians can reach the rest of the world.
It also comes shortly after less encouraging aviation news for the Mother City.
In March, Air Botswana dropped its direct Cape Town-to-Maun route, trimming another regional link from the departures board just as travellers were facing wider uncertainty across the Gulf carriers.
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