HARARE, Aug. 3 (NewsDay Live) – Airlink will launch a scheduled service between Lanseria International Airport and Harare on November 15, becoming the first airline to offer regular flights on the route and expanding travel options between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The new service will operate three times a week using a 98-seat Embraer E190 aircraft configured with six business class and 92 economy seats. Bookings have already opened.
Airlink chief executive de Villiers Engelbrecht said the Johannesburg-Harare corridor remained one of Southern Africa’s busiest air routes, with demand averaging about 60,000 seats a month in 2025.
He said a significant proportion of travellers on the route came from Lanseria’s catchment area, making the new service a convenient complement to the airline’s existing operations from OR Tambo International Airport.
“The Johannesburg-Harare corridor is one of the busiest routes in Southern Africa, and the Lanseria service allows us to better serve customers in Gauteng’s northern and western suburbs while complementing our existing OR Tambo operations,” Engelbrecht said.
Airlink currently operates twice-daily flights between OR Tambo and Harare, as well as a Durban-Harare service.
The new route is expected to provide a more convenient option for business travellers, tourists and the large Zimbabwean diaspora living in Gauteng by reducing travel time to the airport.
The service has been enabled by the liberalised air services agreement signed between Zimbabwe and South Africa in 2021, which eased restrictions on flight frequencies and created opportunities for airlines to expand connectivity between the two countries.
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Founded in 1992, Airlink serves more than 45 destinations across 15 African countries. The airline has previously indicated plans to expand operations from Lanseria, including proposals for additional services to Harare and Bulawayo.
The launch of the Lanseria-Harare route marks the first step in that expansion and is expected to strengthen business, tourism and family travel between the neighbouring countries.
