UAE-based Emirates airline has flown its first scheduled A380 flight to South Africa's Johannesburg in response to cargo and passenger demand.
"The demand for Emirates' services in and out of Johannesburg has always been high, with passenger growth of more than 27 per cent over the past year," said Jean Luc Grillet, Emirates' senior vice president Commercial Operations Africa.
Emirates has carried more than 900,000 passengers across its three South African gateways - Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg - in the past year.
To August, the airline also carried more than 37,500 tonnes of cargo on South African routes, with exports up 26 per cent from the same period in 2010.
Aircargo Asia Pacific