SAA to resume daily flights between JHB and Dar es Salaam

Source: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt via Wikimedia Commons

“This flight is not simply a milestone for SAA and linking Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam through air travel; it heralds a bridge that connects two of Africa’s most influential economies and strengthens the friendship between our nations," says Professor John Lamola, SAA’s interim CEO.

“It brings together industries, communities and resources, enabling us to unlock greater prosperity, foster collaboration and generate new opportunities for trade, investment and development for both our economies, and the people of South Africa and Tanzania.”

Broader economic growth

Dar es Salaam is East Africa’s largest city by population size and is an important regional economic and logistical hub. It is also a gateway for popular tourist attractions in the region.

South Africa accounts for a significant proportion of foreign direct investment in Tanzania, and the two countries have a robust trade in agricultural products, precious metals, chemicals and machinery.

Lamola says the relaunch represents SAA’s strategic initiative to strengthen the airline’s presence across Africa.

“SAA’s regional network has emerged as a top performer, contributing significantly to the revenue of the SAA Group. More importantly, these regional connections are crucial for the broader economic growth of South Africa."

Flight schedule

Daily flights will depart OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 10pm (SAST) and arrive at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam at 2.30am (EAT).

The daily service from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg will depart at 5.10am (EAT) to arrive in Johannesburg at 7.55am (SAST). Dar es Salaam is one hour ahead of Johannesburg.

Lamola says the schedule of seven weekly return flights has been engineered to accommodate both point-to-point and connecting passengers.

Consolidating SAA’s regional network

In November 2024, SAA expanded its services to Harare (Zimbabwe) and Lusaka (Zambia) to 12 flights per week, up from 10 and seven flights a week, respectively.

SAA expands African routes with increased flight frequencies

14 Oct 2024

Flights to Lagos (Nigeria) and Accra (Ghana) have been increased from three to four times a week, while SAA is flying to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) five times a week. SAA also began flying to the DRC’s mining hub, Lubumbashi, in November.

Further, SAA increased its intercontinental flight frequency to Perth in Australia to five weekly flights from 7 January 2025.