Pretoria air-travellers’ options broaden

The carrier Airlink confirmed this week there would be two daily scheduled flights from the airport to the Cape Town from August, Rekord East reported.

Sales and marketing manager Karin Murray said a third daily flight to Cape Town, more suitable for the leisure traveller, would be added in September.

Less than 30 minutes from the eastern suburbs of the city, Wonderboom Airport is expected to offer services that will make life for business travellers much easier.

Vat and tax included, business class seats on the flights start from R3 829 one-way and economy class all-inclusive one-way flights from R1 899, Airlink said. An 83-seater quad jet aircraft would be used on the route.

Tshwane mayoral spokesperson Blessing Manale said open parking at the airport would cost R7.50 for 12 to 24 hours and spaces under cover R43 for 12 to 24 hours.

There is ample parking, but should the need exists, there are options to increase the number of parking bays at the airport.

He said the introduction of scheduled flights did not require any infrastructure upgrades to the airport, as this had already been done in the past.

Manale said the Villa San Giovanni Italian restaurant at the airport offered sufficient seating for the expected influx of passengers and the owners had invested their own money to upgrade the outside area.

Airlink‘s confirmation came despite a recent claim by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that the chronic aviation fuel problems at the airport had hijacked the plans to start the scheduled service.

However, Murray said the carrier would start with two scheduled flights, for early morning and late afternoon, between the capital and the Mother City on August 16 and in September with a third flight.

Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa announced in May commercial flights would be available from Wonderboom to Cape Town International from August this year.

Manale said there had been problems finding a partner relating to the long-term supply of aviation fuel at the airport due to delays in the procurement process.

“We are working on the fuel issue with Airlink and the fuel suppliers and will resolve the matter to ensure scheduled flights stay on track for August 16, 2015. The negotiations are at an advanced stage, and the airline is readying itself for a launch and a tourism attraction campaign from August 1,” Manale said.

Manale said Wonderboom Airport was conveniently located and the new service would start to contribute towards creating more capacity for OR Tambo to focus on the movement of larger aircraft.

– Caxton News Service