Australians will soon be able to fly non-stop to Cape Town for the first time, with Qantas today announcing a new seasonal service between Sydney and South Africa's Mother City.
On sale today, the direct flights will take off in October 2027 and run through Cape Town's summer months until March 20281. Together with Qantas' existing direct services from Perth and Sydney to Johannesburg, the new route will give customers more choice when travelling between Australia and South Africa.
Once launched, it will add almost 30,000 seats between Australia and South Africa and is made possible by the introduction of new Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft arriving in late 2027 as part of the largest fleet renewal in the airline's history.
The new route comes 75 years after Qantas operated its first scheduled passenger service to South Africa. In 1952, the Wallaby Route to Johannesburg took 66 hours via Perth, the Cocos Islands and Mauritius. Next November, customers will be able to leave Sydney in the morning and land in Cape Town the same day.
More than 120,0002 Australians visited South Africa in 2025, with demand continuing to grow. In June this year, Australia overtook Germany to become South Africa's third-largest overseas source market, with arrivals up 19 per cent year on year3. The route will also bring families and friends closer together, with almost 225,000 South African-born people calling Australia home4 and around a quarter of them residing in New South Wales.
Comments from Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace:
"Cape Town is a true bucket-list city and Australia's appetite to visit has never been stronger. Each year, tens of thousands of customers use our existing Johannesburg services to connect to Cape Town through our partner airlines Airlink, so we know there's strong demand for a non-stop service."
"The arrival of our new 787s as part of our historic fleet renewal gives us the flexibility to grow our international network in places we know our customers want to travel, while also creating new opportunities for our people."
Comments from Senator the Hon Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism of Australia:
"This is the first direct link between Australia and Cape Town and is a fantastic outcome for our tourism industry. More planes in the sky means more options for Australian travellers and exporters, and of course international visitors to explore our wonderful sights."
Comments from Wesgro CEO Wrenelle Stander:
"Direct air access is one of the most important drivers of tourism growth, which is why the launch of the new Sydney-Cape Town service is such a significant development for the Western Cape. Australia is an important and growing tourism market for our destination and this route will unlock new opportunities for tourism, trade, investment and business exchange, while making it easier than ever for Australian travellers to visit our region.
"It will also support job creation and help grow the visitor economy across the Western Cape, further cementing Cape Town and the Western Cape's position as a leading gateway to Africa and a destination that is open for business."
Key route information:
- Sydney (SYD) to Cape Town (CPT) will operate as QF89, with the inaugural flight departing on 19 October 2027 and operating until 24 March 20285.
- The route will operate on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner three times per week on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.6
- QF89 is scheduled to depart Sydney at 9:15 and arrive in Cape Town at 14:40 (approx. flight time 14 hours 25 minutes).7
- Economy return fares start from AUD$2,4708
Content is available here including:
- Imagery and broll of Qantas Cabin Crew in Cape Town
- Grabs from Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace
- Destination imagery and broll of Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape regionhere
