Lufthansa Airlines inaugural flight touches down at OR Tambo

Back in the sky: Resumed route from Lufthansa Airlines

After 19 long years, Lufthansa Airlines has officially restarted its route connecting Munich with Johannesburg.

As reported by Travel News, the inaugural flight landed at OR Tambo International Airport yesterday, 3 September.

“Yesterday marked the first flight from Munich to Johannesburg. Starting from September 2024, we’ll be heading there three times a week from, offering seamless travel options for you from any corner of the globe to this city. And yes, we are still flying daily from Frankfurt. As said in Zulu we wish you “Hamba kahle emoyeni!” which means “Travel safely in the sky.”” the airline said in a social media post.

On board the very first flight to Johannesburg was Lufthansa Airlines CEO, Jens Ritter, who symbolically snipped the ribbon at OR Tambo to open the new route.

“Munich, with its award-winning airport, is a popular and beautiful city in the heart of Europe. It is also a convenient hub to take advantage of numerous onward flights. Our customers in South Africa will have more choice and travel options departing from Johannesburg, as this new connection complements our daily service to Frankfurt. Both routes are priced at the same level, providing passengers with flexibility to even combine both routes,” Ritter said as per Travel News.

Flight schedule:

The new service will operate using an Airbus A350-900, which is able to accommodate 293 passengers in business class, premium economy and economy class and will fly throughout the year according to the following schedule:

• The Munich to Johannesburg flight will take off on Monday, Thursday and Saturday at 20:05 and then arrive in Johannesburg at 06:30 the next morning.
• The Johannesburg to Munich return flight will then go out on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 08:20 and with arrival in Munich at 18:50.