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El Al, Israel’s national airline, is expected to suspend its South Africa service because of a “significant decline” in traffic after South Africa’s genocide accusations against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The commercial downturn and security concerns drive the decision to discontinue flights.
Israelis are reluctant to travel to South Africa amidst the ongoing diplomatic tensions. They join many others in this regard. This came from the US Department of State. And this from the Canadian government.
The need for tourism to grow in South Africa is obvious – it generates jobs in a country with ~40% unemployment. But the concerns about safety for travels is widespread. Here’s another report on the crime impact on travel.
Traffic between South Africa and Israel now has to utilize flights on RwandAir, Ethiopian for the most direct service or other options like Turkish. In terms of the US market, we have been watching rising traffic from the US to South Africa.
It’s El Al now, but other airlines may join this pause. British Airways has a lot of service to South Africa and twice its crew have been attacked.
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