Global Airways Announces Flights Between Durban and Réunion Island Starting 26 February 2026 - ACSA
- Maryke Dickinson
- 5 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Durban, South Africa: At a pre-launch event held at Dube TradePort on the evening of 11 December 2025, Global Airways outlined the company’s plan to connect Durban and Réunion Island.
Global Airways and Fly Vetiv’Air plan to collaborate on flights between Durban and Réunion, with the potential to expand to Mauritius. This opens the door for the LIFT Airlines brand involvement in this operation in future, aligning with their broader regional growth plans. The support and energy among the Durban and Réunion teams have been fantastic.
Endorsing the event, on behalf of the KwaZulu-Natal Department for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, led by MEC Rev. Musa Zondi, the Head of Department, Dr. Nkosenye Zulu, said: “Every new international connection brings increased tourist arrivals and new opportunities for exporters, especially given the air cargo facility operated by Dube TradePort here at King Shaka International Airport. It also creates business-to-business linkages in aviation, hospitality, logistics, and beyond.
‘We are confident that this new route will stimulate two-way flows of tourism traffic, strengthen trade in goods and services, and support investment opportunities between our regions, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, green energy, and the creative industries.”
Cllr Philisiwe Ndlovu, Deputy Chairperson of the Economic Development Cluster, eThekwini Municipality, added: “This is a milestone for aviation and tourism in Durban and KwaZulu-Natal at large, as we celebrate the pre-launch of the new air service between King Shaka International Airport and Saint-Pierre, Pierrefonds Airport in Réunion Island. The KwaZulu-Natal Route Development Committee has worked tirelessly with Lift Airlines and national partners to realise this achievement. The new route will not only unlock easier travel for business and leisure but also support the city’s strategic global positioning, which anchors Durban as a resilient, sustainable gateway into Africa.”
Hamish Erskine, CEO of Dube TradePort and co-chair of Durban Direct, concluded:
“This is a truly exciting development for the province, the prospect of opening a new route into Réunion Island and capitalising on the leisure market there, as well as reopening a direct Durban route into Mauritius, something that has been highly anticipated by the KZN market for the past five years.”
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