Thomas Cook Airlines commenced its seventh long-haul route from London Gatwick (LGW) on 15 December, as it added a three times weekly operation to Cape Town

It joins the carrier’s other global destinations of Cancún, Goa, Holguin, St. Lucia, Bridgetown and New Orleans from the London airport. The inaugural flight, operated by the airline’s A330-200 fleet, departed the UK at 19:30 and arrived in Cape Town at 09:00 on 16 December. Deon Cloete, GM of Cape Town Airport said: “Cape Town International Airport is delighted that the carrier is now offering direct routes from London Gatwick. South Africa’s ‘Mother City’ offers its warmest welcome to Thomas Cook Airlines’ passengers ‒ Cape Town is consistently rated as one of the world’s number one tourist destinations and at CTIA we aim to offer travellers a top class passenger experience.” James Burrows, Aviation Director for Thomas Cook Airlines, added: “Cape Town is an enormously popular destination for UK tourists and Thomas Cook Airlines is excited to be able to offer our clients the convenience of affordable direct flights from London Gatwick to Cape Town International three times a week.” The route will face direct competition from British Airways, which only launched its own three times weekly service from the London airport on 24 November.

Aenna