Virgin Atlantic announced it will now offer a new daily flight to Johannesburg , OR Tambo International Airport from London Heathrow.

The flights will be operated by Virgin Atlantic’s B787-9 with the first flight set to depart Heathrow on 28 October 2018. Tickets will go on sale from 24 March.

The additional flight will depart Heathrow at 1645 and land in Johannesburg at 0540 local time and the return flight will leave Johannesburg at 2220 landing back into Heathrow at 0730.

Virgin expects to carry over 300,000 passengers annually and the route is expected to be a favorite for business people or those with connections to the rest of Africa. This is because the flight will be the first ever from Heathrow to land each morning in Jo’burg.

Shai Weiss, chief commercial officer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Virgin Atlantic has been proud to serve South Africa for over 20 years. Johannesburg is one of the most popular destinations on our network so we’re delighted to add a second daily service to create even more travel opportunities for our customers.”

“From Winter 2018 Virgin Atlantic will operate two flights per day to Johannesburg to make it even easier for customers to travel for business and leisure between the UK and South Africa – as well as creating additional cargo capacity for the route.”

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “We’re delighted to see Virgin Atlantic add another daily service to Johannesburg from Heathrow – strengthening Britain’s connections with one of Africa’s most important markets. The new Virgin flight will boost choice for our passengers and open up new opportunities for Britain’s exporters to trade with South Africa.”  

Virgin also through its Chief Executive Craig Kreeger, announced new services to Australia four years after the carrier scrapped the route.

The airline said it will now operate daily flights from London to Melbourne and Sydney via Hong Kong or Los Angeles following a code-sharing agreement with its sister company, Virgin Australia.

By Airport Pickups London