Pretoria - Following days of bad weather, South Africans making their way to London to see loved ones will finally be able do so, with flights scheduled to fly out to the United Kingdom this morning.
South African Airways (SAA) will host two special flights to London's Heathrow Airport this morning, namely flight SA3236 departing from Johannesburg and flight SA3220 departing from Cape Town, after days of flight restrictions caused by bad weather overseas.
This morning's flights come after officials in Heathrow informed travelers on 18 December that bad weather conditions, including snow, had resulted in cancelled flights.
"Today, the normal schedule resumes, with three flights to London and three flights expected from London," SAA spokesperson, Fani Zulu, said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, tourism authorities in the Western Cape said that delayed flights in Europe over the past week, could have impacted negatively on international arrivals to Cape Town and the Western Cape.
According to Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited - a destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape - the industry should prepare for a 10 percent decrease in international visitor numbers.
"The potential financial loss that could result is estimated at R360 million, which will be felt in the accommodation, catering, local transport and entertainment sectors.
"What counts in our favour is the fact that the December visitor surge from specifically the UK contains many expats, who stay with friends and family, with the result that the impact on the accommodation sector will not be too severe," said Gilfellan.
Alan Winde, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism in the Western Cape, said this was a worst case scenario projection.
"We usually receive our biggest influx of foreign tourists from Europe from early January, and if the snow and ice clears before then, the expected impact will be less severe." he said.
Europe accounts for roughly 60 percent of foreign arrivals, with a total of 283 145 international tourists visiting Cape Town and the Western Cape between October and December 2009.
Gilfellan said the UK's contribution was the highest, with 92 894 visitors. Foreign Direct Spend (FDS) from Europe for this period last year amounted to R3.6 billion.
