The King Shaka International Airport and the Dube TradePort Cargo Terminal, in La Mercy, in KwaZulu-Natal, have recorded growth in international flights and airfreight volumes over the past year, Dube TradePort Corporation CEO Hamish Erskine said in a statement on Thursday.

The Cargo Terminal recorded 40% growth in international airfreight from April to December 2018.

“With the introduction of the new air services, the market was quick to use the additional capacity, driving airfreight demand across the board. Further, from October until the end of December 2018, international cargo figures grew by 7.64%, following the introduction of the British Airways direct service to Durban,” said Erskine.

Additionally, the King Shaka International Airport recorded a 13% year-on-year increase in international passengers in December, following an 11% year-on-year increase in November.

This, together with strong domestic passenger growth of 6% for 2018, saw the airport retain its position as South Africa’s fastest-growing major airport for a second year.

King Shaka International Airport handled almost 5.9-million domestic and international passengers during 2018, of which 372 543 were passengers flying on international routes. The airport handled a record 553 149 passengers in December, of which 41 054 where travelling on international routes.

Erskine attributed the double-digit growth to the new direct international routes, including British Airways’ service from Heathrow International Airport, introduced at the end of October, and Emirates’ direct-flight service from Dubai International Airport to King Shaka International Airport, which started during December.

“The three flights a week prove that there is an untapped demand for direct air services into Durban. The growth we are seeing with the Durban–London route is in line with the projected growth demonstrated by our business case to British Airways, which factored into their decision to introduce the direct route,” he added.

Ethekwini municipality economic development and planning deputy city manager Phillip Sithole said tourists spent about R2.7-billion in Durban during the 2018 festive season, which was an increase of R500-million compared with the previous year.

“We foresee this number growing with the introduction of new domestic, regional and international flights. We have been working on a coordinated strategy together with tourism organisations and the industry to maintain the high standard of tourism products.”

For the medium term, Durban Direct’s approach will be to focus on growing the frequency and capacity of the airline partners that currently serve King Shaka International Airport.

The long-term objective is to attract a direct air link to the Far East, possibly a direct air service to either Singapore or Hong Kong, which would provide better air access to mainland China, Japan, South Korea and South East Asia, he said.

“As Durban Direct, our aim is to develop and grow Durban’s passenger market. We have already started engaging with the private sector to help us expand the impact of the programme,” highlighted Erskine.

“One of the initiatives within this programme involves working with our airline partners to further stimulate passenger growth through the implementation of an international integrated marketing plan.

“The ultimate aim is to create an environment where our airline partners see significant growth in demand, which will enable them to justify introducing additional frequencies into Durban,” he concluded.