Bad news for flights between South Africa and America

United Airlines has thrown cold water on Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille’s claims that it is increasing flights between South Africa and the USA—saying it has just shifted a flight around.

United, the largest airline in the world by fleet size, told BusinessTech that it is not expanding its service to and from South Africa but will just temporarily move one flight around during the summer of 2025/26.

The airline’s clarification comes after Tourism minister Patricia De Lille welcomed the “expansion” of United flights in the country.

De Lille said that United Airlines would introduce a new long-haul service from Washington Dulles Airport to Cape Town International Airport.

She added that the airline would also expand a second non-stop South African route, linking Johannesburg to New York/Newark.

However, the United said the route between Washington Dulles and Cape Town had already been operating since November 2022, operating three flights per week.

The flight between Johannesburg and Newark/New York, meanwhile, has been in operation since 2021, and non-stop flights are offered daily.

Contrary to the minister’s claims of expansion, United told BusinessTech that its total number of flights hasn’t changed—one flight has just been moved around.

The 16-hour non-stop flight between New York and Joburg will drop to six times per week from the start of the South African summer in 2025/26.

The flight between Cape Town and New York—in operation since 2019—will be bumped up to four times per week at the same time.

United Airlines told BusinessTech that this transfer of one flight during the South African summer will revert at the end of the season.

United Airlines is thus not expanding its flights to South Africa but is simply moving flights around.

Strong but strained ties

Despite ongoing tensions between the US and South Africa, tourist figures remain positive, with arrivals from the United States standing at over 430,000 in 2023, up 37.4% from 2022.

De Lille said that the USA is one of South Africa’s top source markets for tourism and that her department will continue to work to increase arrivals from the world’s largest economy.

Data from VisaNet shows that the United States is among the top feeder destinations for tourists to South Africa and remain a vital source of revenue for businesses in South Africa.

Visa’s data showed that Cape Town is the leading spending destination for travellers, with a 46% share of international traveller spending, followed by Johannesburg, at 24%.

The relative popularity of Cape Town could be why United Airlines is switching routes from Johannesburg and Cape Town to New York/Newark in the summertime.

However, the data does not necessarily reflect the latest developments between the countries, including the antagonstic positioning of the Trump administration towards South Africa.

Trump has criticised South Africa over its recently passed Expropriation Act, which he falsely claims the South African government is using to confiscate the land of white farmers.

The South African government has repeatedly clarified that the new Expropriation Act does not explicitly target white farmers and allows for expropriation without compensation in extreme cases only. 

However, Trump has continued to berate and target South Africa.

The US president has now thrown doubt over attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg later this year over the claims of a ‘white genocide.’

Two new Bills introduced by US congress members have also targeted South Africa, allowing for targeted sanctions of ANC or government officials and for Afrikaner farmers to claim refugee status in the US.