Air Côte d'Ivoire (HF, Abidjan) launches 4x weekly A320-200N services between Abidjan and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, South Africa on June 29 as an extension of its flights to Kinshasa N'Djili in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to a statement carried by French language media, southbound flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays depart at 1950L (1950Z) to arrive the next day at 0535L (0535Z) after a refuelling stop in Kinshasa. Return flights also route via the DRC.

With a flight time of under eight hours, Air Côte d'Ivoire said it would offer the fastest connection between the two countries. It will have no competition on the route as South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) abandoned it in early 2020 after entering business rescue.

Chief Executive Officer Laurent Loukou said the new route would “strengthen economic ties between South Africa and Côte d'Ivoire ”.

He said the route launch was timed to build traffic ahead of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) being hosted by Côte d’Ivoire in 2023. “Africa is preparing to become a strong economic bloc, and Côte d'Ivoire and South Africa have a huge role to play in this growth,” he said.

According to the ch-aviation schedules module, Air Côte d'Ivoire initially planned to launch daily flights on the Johannesburg route in October 2021.