President of Africa’s largest economy wants direct flights to India back after 11 years in push for billions in trade and investment

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says his government is working to restore direct flights with India more than 11 years after the last non-stop service ended, as Africa’s largest economy seeks deeper trade, tourism and investment ties with the Asian giant.

• South African President Ramaphosa announced plans to restore direct flights between South Africa and India after more than 11 years without a non-stop service.
• The move aims to deepen trade, tourism, and investment ties, especially as South Africa pursues stronger commercial engagement with India.
• Johannesburg-Mumbai is prioritized for direct flights, with talks underway with several airlines, and South Africa encourages Indian firms to use it as a gateway to wider African markets.
• There is a focus on cooperation in areas such as pharmaceuticals, technology, critical minerals, and electric-vehicle battery value chains.

Ramaphosa announced the push during the India-South Africa Business Leadership Roundtable in New Delhi on September 12, held alongside the 18th BRICS Summit.

“To turn this potential into practical partnerships, we are keen to restore direct flights between South Africa and India,” Ramaphosa said.

The two countries have had no direct passenger service since April 1, 2015, when South African Airways withdrew its Johannesburg-Mumbai route as part of a wider network optimisation drive.

SAA instead redirected India-bound passengers through Abu Dhabi under code-share agreements with Etihad Airways and Jet Airways, providing onward connections to Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

Travellers have since largely relied on connecting flights rather than a non-stop link between the two countries.

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Trade and investment drive renewed aviation push

The effort to restore direct flights comes as South Africa seeks stronger commercial ties with India.

South Africa is currently Africa’s largest economy by nominal GDP, with the IMF projecting output of about $480 billion in 2026, ahead of Egypt and Nigeria.

India is already South Africa’s fourth-largest trading partner, while more than 150 Indian companies have invested over $10 billion in the country and created more than 18,000 jobs.

Ramaphosa wants to expand that relationship into infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, technology, critical minerals and electric-vehicle battery value chains.

“India’s strengths in pharmaceuticals and health technology can support our ambition to expand the local production of medicines and vaccines,” said Ramaphosa.

“It has capabilities in information technology, financial technology and digital public infrastructure that can support the modernisation of our own systems and services,” he said.

South Africa, in turn, wants to use its mineral resources to support India’s expanding clean-energy and manufacturing industries while retaining more processing at home.

“Our endowment of critical minerals can feed India’s fast-growing renewable energy, battery and automotive value chains, while ensuring that more of the processing of these minerals happens on South African soil.”

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Johannesburg-Mumbai route could return first

The push has already moved beyond political discussions, with Airports Company South Africa identifying Johannesburg-Mumbai as the priority route because it accounts for about 58% of passenger traffic between the two countries.

Other proposals include Mumbai connections with Cape Town and Durban, as well as a direct Delhi-Johannesburg service.

Demand for the routes is supported by existing travel between the two countries. South Africa welcomed 69,680 tourists from India in 2025, while the latest full-year Indian data shows that 44,168 South Africans visited India in 2024.

More than 126,000 passengers travel between the two countries each year, and their bilateral aviation agreement permits up to 28 weekly flights in each direction.

South African tourism officials have also held talks with Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet as they seek a carrier willing to restore direct services.