South African Airways Set to Return to Dar es Salaam

The countdown is on as South African Airways (SAA) finalises plans to relaunch daily flights between Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on Monday, 20 January 2025.

“This flight is not simply a milestone for SAA and linking Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam through air travel; it heralds a bridge that connects two of Africa’s most influential economies and strengthens the friendship between our nations”, says SAA’s interim CEO, Professor John Lamola.

“It brings together industries, communities and resources, enabling us to unlock greater prosperity, foster collaboration and generate new opportunities for trade, investment and development for both our economies, and for the people of South Africa and Tanzania.”

Broader Economic Growth

Dar es Salaam is East Africa’s largest city by population size and is an important regional economic and logistical hub. It is also a gateway for popular tourist attractions in the region.

South Africa accounts for a significant proportion of foreign direct investment in Tanzania, and the two countries have a robust trade in agricultural products, precious metals, chemicals and machinery.

Lamola said the relaunch represents SAA’s strategic initiative to strengthen the airline’s presence across Africa.

“SAA’s regional network has emerged as a top performer, contributing significantly to the revenue of the SAA Group. More importantly, these regional connections are crucial for the broader economic growth of South Africa,” he said.

Flight Schedule

Flights will depart OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg at 10 pm and arrive at Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam at 2.30 am. Flights from Dar es Salaam will depart at 5.10 am and arrive Johannesburg at 7.55 am. All times are local.

Lamola said the schedule of seven weekly return flights has been engineered to accommodate both point-to-point and connecting passengers.

Consolidating Regional Network

In November 2024, South African Airways expanded services to Harare (Zimbabwe) and Lusaka (Zambia) to 12 flights per week, up from 10 and 7 flights a week, respectively.

Flights to Lagos (Nigeria) and Accra (Ghana) have been increased from 3 to 4 times a week, while flights to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is 5 times a week. SAA also began flying to the DRC’s mining hub, Lubumbashi, in November, 2024.

Further, SAA increased its intercontinental flight frequency to Perth in Australia to five weekly flights from 7 January this year.

Book your ticket now at www.flysaa.com.