South African regional airline Airlink is expanding its summer schedule with a new Johannesburg Lanseria–Harare route and additional flights to destinations including Zanzibar, Nosy Be, George and Cape Town.
The changes will be introduced between October and December 2026, ahead of the southern African summer travel season. Airlink said the programme was designed to offer more choice during a period of increased leisure, family and regional travel.
The new Lanseria–Harare service will launch in November, operating three times a week with an Embraer E190. Airlink said the route would give travellers from northern and north-western Johannesburg, the West Rand, parts of Pretoria and South Africa’s North West province an alternative to using O.R. Tambo International Airport.
In October, Airlink is adding its new E195-E2 Business Class product to the twice-weekly Johannesburg–Zanzibar service. The route will increase to three flights a week during the December peak, using an additional E190. The airline will also deploy an E195-E2 on its daily Johannesburg–Nairobi service.
Further increases are planned for December. Cape Town–Harare will receive three additional weekly services, while Johannesburg–Nosy Be in Madagascar will gain an extra weekly flight. Airlink will also add a daily Johannesburg–George service and two additional weekend return flights between Cape Town and George.
Airlink chief executive de Villiers Engelbrecht said the changes would give passengers “more choice and a better experience” during the summer season. The additional flights will increase access to beach destinations such as Zanzibar and Nosy Be, as well as Zimbabwe and South Africa’s Garden Route.
The announcement did not include passenger forecasts or revenue projections, but the expanded schedule represents a notable increase in regional capacity from South Africa ahead of the year-end holiday period.
