According to a United Airlines statement on Monday, Cape Town will in December receive direct flights to Newark Liberty International Airport aboard the US carrier’s aircraft.
If it passes US government approval, it will be the first non-stop flight between the Mother City and North America.
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“United’s nonstop service between New York/Newark and Cape Town will decrease the current travel time from New York to Cape Town by more than four hours and provide customers from more than 80 U.S. cities with easy one-stop access to Cape Town,” United Airlines said in a statement.
The flight from the New Jersey-based airport to Cape Town International is set to last 14 and a half hours, while the northbound flight will run around 16 hours. The flight will operate three times a week using United’s fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Newark, although in New Jersey, is often regarded as New York City’s third airport. It serves more than 48-million passengers a year.
United currently doesn’t fly to African destinations. It last served the continent in a route between Lagos and Houston in 2016. Delta however, the only US operator flying to South Africa at present, does have a direct flight between Atlanta and Johannesburg.
The first flight is set to depart from Newark on 15 December.
Feature image: A United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, by Bathara Sakti via Flickr (Public Domain)
