South Africa expands direct air links to Europe with new routes

Air Europa launched a scheduled direct service between Madrid and Johannesburg on 25 June 2026, operating three times a week with Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The airline also introduced an interline agreement with South African carrier CemAir, allowing seamless connections to domestic and regional flights.

Turkish Airlines announced it will add three weekly flights each to Johannesburg and Cape Town from Istanbul beginning in late October 2026, raising its South African schedule from 14 to 20 weekly flights. The new services aim to boost business and leisure travel and provide greater access to Turkish Airlines' network of more than 350 destinations via its Istanbul hub.