Germany’s Lufthansa Group announced on Thursday that it was expanding its repatriation flight programme between Germany and South Africa and between Switzerland and South Africa. The Germany flights will be operated by Lufthansa itself and will be between Frankfurt and both Johannesburg and Cape Town. The Switzerland flights will be operated by Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) and will be biweekly, between Zurich and Johannesburg.

These flights will be to both allow South Africans to return home and to carry German, Swiss, other European Union and Schengen visa zone citizens and residents back to their countries. These operations have been made possible by the cooperation of the South African, German and Swiss authorities, including the German and Swiss embassies in South Africa. The Lufthansa Group will maintain its repatriation flight programme until South African international travel ban is lifted.

“The Lufthansa Group remains committed to the South African market and connects our countries also during this unprecedented crisis,” assured Group Southern Africa & East Africa sales GM Dr André Schulz. “For all repatriation flights, the safety and health of our passengers and employees are a top priority for us. Therefore, all procedures throughout the entire travel chain will be constantly reviewed in order to guarantee the safety of everyone.”

The next repatriation flight by Swiss will depart Johannesburg on August 22. For next month, additional repatriation flights to Zurich have been scheduled for September 5 and September 19. 

Lufthansa will carry out a repatriation flight from Frankfurt to Johannesburg on August 26, returning to Frankfurt on August 28. The German national flag carrier will carry out eight such flights during September, split half and half between Johannesburg and Cape Town. These flights also serve to bring technical experts to South Africa, to assist local subsidiaries of German companies.

“Currently, repatriation flights are the most essential service that an airline can provide in a country where travel bans remain in place,” he highlighted. “As South Africa is a key trading partner to Germany, Switzerland and Austria, it is important that the Lufthansa Group remains actively present in the market and maintains a strong relationship between South Africa and Europe.”