United celebrates five years of direct flights to CT

In the five years since United Airlines introduced the first direct flight between New York and Cape Town, 1 500 flights have taken off, carrying over 300 000 passengers. In addition to fuelling tourist growth from this market, the route has also carried thousands of tonnes of cargo.

Since the launch as a seasonal flight in 2019 and the only non-stop service between New York and Cape Town at the time, United has expanded its presence in South Africa over the past five years. The route first expanded to a year-round service in 2021. A Johannesburg-Newark route followed in the same year. In 2022, the airline added its Cape Town-Washington DC route.

United now operates three times weekly between Cape Town and Newark and Cape Town and…