Emirates passengers can now book single-ticket trips to 9 African cities

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, August 6, 2026

Emirates has expanded its codeshare partnership with South African Airways to include nine additional destinations across South Africa and neighboring countries, enabling single-ticket bookings and coordinated flight schedules. This extension enhances regional connectivity for passengers, particularly from Europe, by streamlining travel within southern and central Africa through integrated services.

Emirates passengers can now book single-ticket journeys to nine additional destinations within South Africa and neighboring countries, following an expansion of the airline’s codeshare partnership with South African Airways (SAA). The enhanced agreement allows for coordinated flight schedules and through-checked baggage when connecting between the two carriers’ services.

Under the revised arrangement, Emirates will place its flight code on several routes operated by SAA, extending the airline’s network across three domestic South African routes and six regional destinations. The domestic routes link Johannesburg with Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth. The regional services connect Johannesburg to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaborone in Botswana, Windhoek in Namibia, Lusaka in Zambia, Harare in Zimbabwe, and Victoria Falls.

Tickets covering these expanded routes are now available directly through Emirates, travel agencies, and the airline’s retail outlets. Previously, the partnership largely involved a unilateral codeshare, where SAA placed its code on Emirates-operated flights between Dubai and Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. SAA customers could also access a wider network of 68 destinations worldwide via Emirates’ Dubai hub through interline agreements.

The new arrangement follows regulatory approvals and marks a significant deepening of cooperation between the two carriers, which have maintained a partnership since 1997—one of the longest-standing collaborations in Emirates’ portfolio. The expanded codeshare responds to strong demand from international markets, especially Europe, for travel to South Africa, while offering passengers increased connectivity throughout southern and central Africa.

Emirates commenced flights to South Africa in 1995, starting with routes to Johannesburg before adding Cape Town and Durban to its network. The airline currently operates 56 weekly flights linking these three cities and has transported more than 20 million passengers to and from South Africa to date. The broadened partnership with SAA aims to build on this foundation by improving seamless travel options across the region.

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