WATCH: British Airways pilots swap their boeings for surfboards with ‘Surfers Not Street Children’

Two British Airways pilots swapped their stripes for surfing gear recently as they joined the team from Surfers Not Street Children (SNSC) down at Durban’s golden beachfront, in celebration of their inaugural direct flight from King Shaka International Airport to London, Heathrow.

Senior First Officer Andy Fonseca, who was on board the inaugural flight on Monday, 29 October, and First Officer Tom Reynolds teamed up with two SNSC surfers to find out more about the organisation, which British Airways has supported for many years.

The organisation empowers ex street children and children at risk of street connectedness through surfing and mentorship, in Durban, Mozambique and the United Kingdom.

“What we wanted to do was to develop a programme that gave street children an opportunity to change their lives,” said founder and CEO Tom Hewitt.

Also read: British Airways introduces direct flights between London and Durban

But what better way to learn all about SNSC, than to suit up and ride some gnarly waves under the guidance of surfing instructors S’nenhlanhla “Sne” Makhubu and Sihle Mbuto, who have both thrived since joining the programme.

“I rolled over, I went under, but it was just great to be able to get out there, get on the boards a few times and ride a few waves,” said Andy.

But the fun did not stop there, as Sne and Sihle jetted off to the British Airways Global Learning Academy in London to experience the thrill of flying a Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the simulator centre, the same plane which will be flying from Durban to London every week.

“British Airways has been an incredible partner for many years and has really enabled us to do the work that we do with street children,” said Hewitt.

WATCH the video that’s making waves as Andy and Tom swap Boeings for boards with SNSC

Direct flights from Durban

The service will be the only non-stop link between Europe and Durban and will be operated by the airline’s newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

The aircraft will arrive at King Shaka International in the morning and land back at Heathrow in the evening.

Return fares from Durban will start from R11 679.

Direct flights also offer locals more choice and the opportunity to connect to cities and countries around the world.

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