United Airlines has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for three weekly nonstop flights between Washington, D.C. and Cape Town, South Africa. If approved, United’s flights will become the first nonstop service ever between Washington D.C. and South Africa’s legislative capital, Cape Town.
This long-overdue route will benefit important government-to-government connections and increase communication and commerce with a region that has strong cultural ties to South Africa. United’s proposed service would begin November 17, 2022, and operate on Boeing 787-9 aircraft, maximised to meet consumer demand and benefit both U.S. and South African travellers. If approved, the flights between Dulles and Cape Town will connect 55 cities across the United States to Cape Town, representing more than 90% of the entire U.S. travel demand to Cape Town. United’s Washington Dulles hub is a gateway to the nation’s capital and elsewhere, operating more than 230 daily flights to nearly 100 destinations around the world – including more than ten world capitals and new service to Accra, Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria.