Looking to book that once-in-a-lifetime trip to South Africa? Well, it soon might get just that tiny bit easier (and cheaper). Virgin Atlantic is relaunching its daily direct route between London and Cape Town, providing an alternative to only other flight, which is operated by British Airways.
Virgin’s new service will take just under 12 hours to fly between London Heathrow and Cape Town International. The airline is looking to relaunch its route in November, just in time for Cape Town’s high tourist season. The most popular time of year to visit CT is between December and February – i.e. summer in the southern hemisphere.
The new route is cheap-ish – and we really do want to emphasise the ‘ish’. We had a quick scan of flights on Skyscanner and found Virgin’s cheapest return deals cost around £683, compared to BA’s £706. So it’s not the hugest saving in the world, but it’s better than nothing, right?
According to EWN, Virgin dropped its direct London-Cape Town route in 2015. The service resumed in early 2020, before the pandemic grounded most air travel a few weeks later.
Virgin Atlantic’s outbound route will depart from Heathrow at 4.20pm and arrive in Cape Town at 6am, while the return will depart at 8am and land at 5.45pm. It’s set to relaunch on November 5 and will only last for the duration of Cape Town’s peak tourist season.
You can book flights and find out more on the Virgin Atlantic website here.
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