South African private-sector airline Airlink has announced that it will start services between Johannesburg and both Lilongwe and Blantyre, in Malawi, in early September. Flights to Lilongwe, the country’s capital, will commence on Monday, September 4, and to Blantyre, the country’s financial and commercial centre, on Tuesday, September 5.

“As the premier regional airline, Airlink sets out to provide travellers to and from Malawi with optimal connectivity through a wide choice of conveniently scheduled flights and connections within the region and, through our partners, to the rest of the world,” affirmed airline CEO and MD Rodger Foster. “In addition to supporting the revitalisation of tourism, Airlink’s new routes will also be able to play a key role in the current Malawi Growth and Development Strategy which aims to diversify the economy and build a wealthy, self-reliant and industrialised middle-income country.”

Malawi will become the sixteenth country in Airlink’s network. Both routes will be operated thrice-weekly and will be flown using Embraer ERJ-135 regional airliners. In Airlink service, these carry 37 passengers in a single class.

The flights from Johannesburg to Lilongwe will be flown on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and will be coded 4Z 460. They will depart at 11h00 and arrive in Lilongwe at 13h20. The return flights will be coded 4Z 461 and depart Lilongwe at 14h10, arriving in Johannesburg at 16h35.

The Johannesburg-Blantyre flights will be flown on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The flights to Blantyre will be coded 4Z 450 and also leave Johannesburg at 11h00, arriving at Blantyre at 13h05. The return flights will be coded 4Z 451, and leave Blantyre at 14h15 and reach Johannesburg at 16h35.

Passengers on these routes will have a free luggage allowance of 20 kg and receive a light meal. They will have a choice of window or aisle seats, as Airlink flights do not have middle seats.