This week’s looting and violence has had a ripple effect throughout South Africa as the movement of goods going in and out of the KwaZulu-Natal has been hindered.
FlySafair, South African low-cost airline, has stepped in to assist with transportation of much needed supplies into the region by scheduling additional flights into Durban.
“Demand for air travel overall is still deeply depressed, but there is clearly a need for additional capacity for both cargo and passenger seats into and out of KZN this week,” says Kirby Gordon, chief marketing officer at FlySafair.
“We have some limited capacity in the belly of the aircraft to carry cargo into the province. Our staff have all contributed to helping people in the area and we’re assisting various other charitable groups in moving required goods and services, including essential things like food, medical provisions and yeast to secure bread supplies.”
Efforts to move goods are being coordinated through central charitable organisations with capacity to collect items on the one end and securely deliver them to those in need within KwaZulu-Natal.
“There’s also a lot of demand for seats for people looking to leave the area, particularly to head to Cape Town. Bookings on this route have been very last minute, and via our contact centre we’ve learned that a lot of people are flying elderly relatives and other vulnerable people out of the province until things calm down a bit.”