DOHA, Jan 25, 2026, 05:05 (GMT+3)
- Starting Feb. 16, Qatar Airways will increase its weekly flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town. From March 1, it will offer daily flights to Durban.
- Johannesburg will have 21 weekly flights; Cape Town is scheduled for 14; Durban’s service connects through Maputo in Mozambique.
- Durban’s route development committee reported a 11.6% increase in passenger numbers at King Shaka International Airport in December compared to the previous year.
Qatar Airways announced it will boost weekly flight frequencies to South Africa starting Feb. 16. Johannesburg will see its flights rise to 21 per week, while Cape Town jumps to 14. The Durban route, which stops in Maputo, Mozambique, is set to increase to seven weekly flights beginning March 1, according to a notice on the airline’s trade portal. 1
The expansion boosts capacity on a key route for South Africans traveling to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, where most connect via Doha’s Hamad International Airport. Airlines are ramping up international schedules into 2026, and seat availability is edging back toward pre-pandemic levels on certain long-haul flights.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban Direct route development committee reported an 11.6% rise in December passenger numbers at King Shaka International Airport compared to last year. The committee pointed to Qatar Airways boosting its Durban flights as evidence of robust demand for international connections. 2
Aviation outlet AirlineGeeks reported Qatar Airways currently runs 35 weekly flights to South Africa and plans to increase that to 42. The Johannesburg route will go up from 18 to 21 flights per week, Cape Town from 12 to 14, and Durban from five to seven. 3
The Durban flights aren’t nonstop; the plane stops in Maputo before heading on to Durban and then back to Doha. This setup could attract more passengers along the route, but delays at any stop risk causing knock-on effects throughout the schedule.
Qatar’s new services enter a space crowded with competitors offering seamless connections via their hubs. Dubai’s Emirates, for instance, includes Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg in its South Africa route network. 4
Qatar Airways has been stepping up its presence in Africa with strategic moves, including a 25% stake purchase in South African regional airline Airlink earlier in 2024. “Our investment in Airlink further demonstrates how integral we see Africa being to our business’ future,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Badr Mohammed Al-Meer. 5
Airline schedules remain flexible. The extra flights are set to begin next month, but carriers could still adjust capacity if bookings drop, planes require maintenance, or disruptions affect the Doha-Maputo-Durban route.
Qatar Airways hasn’t revealed the number of seats it plans to add on its South Africa routes. Their trade portal notice advised agents to verify schedules when booking.
The updated plan would hand Qatar Airways daily flights to Durban and boost departures to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa’s top international hubs, starting mid-February.
