Bid for more direct flights between SA and India

Indian diplomats in South Africa are trying to persuade airlines from the subcontinent to operate direct flights between the countries.This comes in the wake of a growing number of South Africans requesting visas to travel to India.

India’s Durban consul-general, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, said the potential to increase tourism to India was “limitless”.
“This is constrained by airline capacity, and right now it’s only SAA flying directly to India. We would like Indian airlines to fly here, and we would like to address that issue as soon as possible,” he said.
Vikas Swarup, India’s deputy high commissioner to South Africa, said they had been trying to persuade both Air India and Jet Airways to fly to South Africa.

He said achieving greater connectivity between India, Brazil and South Africa — who are part of a trilateral agreement — would be possible only if more airlines started operating between the countries.


24/08/08 Taschica Pillay/The Times, South Africa