South African private sector airline Airlink has announced that it will resume scheduled flights to Skukuza Airport, in the Kruger National Park, from Thursday (January 28). The airport had been temporarily shut down on January 14 because of a localised outbreak of Covid-19 at a nearby location.
Throughout the Skukuza shutdown, Airlink continued to operate services to Nelspruit’s Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport and to Hoedspruit Airport. These are the two closest alternative airports to the Kruger National Park and the adjacent reserves, bushcamps and resorts.
Initially, the flights to and from Skukuza will be operated four times a week, on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. The Johannesburg to Skukuza flights will be coded 4Z 865 and the Skukuza to Johannesburg flights will be designated 4Z 866.
However, from March 1, the flights will be operated on a daily basis. The flight codes will remain the same.
According to the Airports Company South Africa, last year Airlink was the most punctual South African airline, with an on-time performance of better than 95%. It is the busiest carrier in Southern Africa as well as (in terms of the number of flights it operates) the region’s largest airline. In 2019, with a fleet of 50 jet airliners, it operated more than 63 000 flights, carrying two-million passengers to 39 destinations in nine African countries plus St Helena island, over 55 routes.