For the first time in many years, the African continent is buzzing with interest from airlines looking to launch new flights there.
Ever since Norwegian carrier Norse Atlantic (NRSAF) announced it would “break the duopoly” held by South African Airways and British Airways with a new low-cost route from London to Cape Town, other airlines have also added new flights to various African cities. Delta (DAL) , United Airlines (UAL) and British low-cost airline EasyJet (EJTTF) have all expanded offerings across the African continent.
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This new EasyJet route goes to a popular holiday destination
The new routes include both popular North African tourist destinations in Egypt and Morocco as well as new routes to Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa from more cities in the U.S.
Delta, in particular, brought back an old route between New York and Lagos and is switching out to larger planes for its flights to Ghana and South Africa.
The latest low-cost route to Africa was just announced by British carrier EasyJet: starting in March 2025, the flight will run from London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) to the Cape Verde island of Sal.
The island nation, officially known as Cabo Verde in Portuguese, is located off the west coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.
While EasyJet has already started running several routes between Portuguese cities like Lisbon and Porto, the new flight is the first to be tailored primarily toward tourists rather than the diaspora; Cape Verde has long attracted visitors looking for pristine white-sand beaches in a remote setting.
Numbers released by Cape Verde authorities show there has been a 40% increase in international arrivals between 2023 and 2024 and the number of arrivals is expected to surpass one million by 2028 (the entire island nation is home to just under 560,000 permanent residents).
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New 2025 route marks first-ever Sub-Saharan service for EasyJet
“We’re proud to be releasing such an incredible range of new routes and package holidays today, providing more choice for customers to visit more of the places they love across Europe and to experience some incredible new destinations,” EasyJet UK country manager Ali Gayward said in a statement. “This includes a milestone route for easyJet to beautiful Cape Verde, our first ever sub-saharan service.”
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The Gatwick-Sal route is slated to start running in March 2025 three times a week on an Airbus A320neo (EADSF) and will span 2,332 nautical miles (4,319 kilometers). It will take six hours and 10 minutes to get to Sal and five hours and 50 minutes to return to London.
While the launch is still months away, the flight is already available to book on EasyJet’s website at a price ranging from £150 to £269 pounds (approximately $190 to $340 USD) in each direction.
As mainstream carriers usually charge upwards of $1,000 for a round-trip ticket to Cape Verde from London, the new route definitely falls within low-cost airline territory when it comes to price.
The six-hour travel time also ranks the London-Sal route among EasyJet’s longest. As the airline’s model is based on running short flights between nearby European capitals, some outliers include other six-hour flights between different UK cities to Egyptian resorts like Hurghada, Luxor, and Sharm El Sheikh.
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