AIRLINK TO LAUNCH FIRST SCHEDULED LANSERIA-HARARE SERVICE IN NOVEMBER

Airlink will launch the first scheduled service between Lanseria International Airport and Harare on 15 November, operating three times a week using an Embraer E190 aircraft. The new route marks a significant milestone for both the airline and the airport, representing Airlink’s first scheduled service to operate out of Lanseria and the first scheduled airline connection ever established between Lanseria and Zimbabwe’s capital.

Bookings for the new service have already opened, giving travellers an additional option for flying between the western region of Johannesburg and Harare, alongside Airlink’s existing services out of OR Tambo International Airport. The Embraer E190 deployed on the route will operate with 98 seats, made up of six business class seats and 92 in economy, offering a mix of comfort and capacity suited to both business and leisure travellers.

Speaking on the announcement, Airlink CEO de Villiers Engelbrecht highlighted the strength of demand driving the decision to add the route. He noted that the Johannesburg-Harare corridor is among the busiest in Southern Africa, with average monthly demand of around 60,000 seats recorded in 2025. According to Engelbrecht, a significant share of that demand comes from within Lanseria’s catchment area, meaning the airline is now better positioned to serve those customers directly rather than routing them through OR Tambo.

The move follows Airlink’s broader push to expand its footprint across Southern Africa, an effort that has included applications to add further Lanseria routes to Zimbabwe, including potential daily flights to both Harare and Bulawayo. That expansion has been made possible in part by a liberalised air services agreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe, signed in 2021 and phased in over subsequent years, which relaxed previous restrictions on the number of flight frequencies each side could operate.

For travellers, the new Lanseria option is expected to ease congestion-related travel times for those based in Johannesburg’s northern and western suburbs, cutting out the need for a longer commute to OR Tambo when flying to Harare. It also adds to Airlink’s growing network of regional connections linking Zimbabwe with South African cities, which already includes established routes such as Durban-Harare, alongside frequent Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Victoria Falls services.

With bookings now open ahead of the 15 November launch, the new route is set to give both business travellers and tourists an added level of flexibility when planning trips between South Africa and Zimbabwe, further strengthening air connectivity between the two neighbouring countries.