United Airlines is expanding operations to Cape Town (CPT) in South Africa from June by converting its existing seasonal service to a year-round route.
The carrier began flying to the city from Newark (EWR) in December 2019, marking its return to the African market for the first time since suspending flights to Lagos (LOS) in Nigeria in 2016.
After pausing the Cape Town route at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, United resumed flights to South Africa in June 2021 between Newark and Johannesburg (JNB). Operations to Cape Town restarted last December.
The Star Alliance member’s existing EWR-CPT seasonal service is currently scheduled to run through March 26 but will now return on June 5 and operate year-round. The route will continue to be served 3X-weekly using Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
“United’s direct flights from New York/Newark cut the usual travel time to Cape Town by more than five hours, giving visitors extra time to enjoy the beauty and majesty of South Africa,” said Patrick Quayle, United's SVP of international network planning and alliances.