Emirates Expands Service in South Africa Starting December 1

Updated: January 17, 2026, 9:50pm CST

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Durban Service Begins on December 1
Final Thoughts

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Emirates Airline has announced a sweeping expansion of its service across 3 South African destinations.

Here’s what you need to know.

Durban Service Begins on December 1

Emirates announced on September 26 that it was expanding service between Dubai (DXB) and 3 cities in South Africa: Cape Town (CPT), Durban (DUR), and Johannesburg (JNB).

Emirates says it will add daily flights to Durban beginning December 1. The airline is also expanding service to and from Johannesburg with 3 daily flights beginning March 1, 2023, and twice daily flights to Cape Town starting February 1, 2023. The twice-daily service to Cape Town restores the airline’s pre-pandemic schedule, Emirates says.

All told, this expansion will increase Emirates’ weekly schedule to South Africa to 42 flights.

Emirates Dubai-to-Johannesburg service, flight EK 767, will be on the Boeing 777-ER, which has more than 300 seats–including the so-called “Game Changer First Class Suites.”

South Africa is seen as a large hub in the southern part of the continent, connecting travelers from the Middle East and elsewhere to destinations such as Mozambique, Namibia, and Botswana.

However, the airline isn’t the only Middle Eastern carrier that flies to South Africa. Qatar Airways offers daily services between its Doha (DOH) hub and Cape Town and Johannesburg. And Etihad Airways also flies between its Abu Dhabi base and Johannesburg.

Emirates A380 A6-EVE — Emirates is expanding service in South Africa this winter. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

Tickets for all routes can be purchased on Emirates.com or through the mobile app. Award flights have already been loaded onto the website, and there is pretty decent availability on the routes. One-way flights between Dubai and the 3 South African cities start at 41,250 Emirates Skywards miles in economy, 76,250 miles in business class, or 90,000 miles in first class.

Update:

As of May 2025, Emirates first class awards using Skywards miles are only available to members with Skywards Silver, Gold, or Platinum status. You can get around this limitation by booking a business class award and then using additional miles to upgrade to first class. Alternatively, you can redeem Qantas Frequent Flyer miles for Emirates first class.

Earning Emirates miles is incredibly easy, since the program is an American Express transfer partner, Bilt transfer partner, Brex transfer partner, Capital One transfer partner, Chase transfer partner, Citi ThankYou transfer partner, and Marriott transfer partner.

Emirates miles transfer from Bilt, and Chase at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly. Amex and Citi ThankYou points transfer at a 5:4 ratio. Capital One miles transfer at a 4:3 ratio. Brex points transfer at a 3:2 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio with a bonus of 5,000 miles after transferring 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to Emirates at once.

Hot Tip: Read our guide about how to book Emirates first class seats ahead of your next trip!

Final Thoughts

Emirates says it has served South Africa for nearly 3 decades, flying more than 20 million passengers to and from the country through its Dubai hub. That the airline is expanding across South Africa is excellent news for travelers in the country and across the southern part of the continent.