United Reveals Plans for Nonstop Service between Washington, D.C. and Cape Town

The proposed service from United Airlines would launch on November 17, 2022, and operate on 787-9 aircraft. If approved, the flights between Dulles and Cape Town will connect 55 cities across the United States to Cape Town, representing more than 90 percent of the entire U.S. travel demand to Cape Town. United’s Washington Dulles hub is a gateway to the nation’s capital and elsewhere, operating more than 230 daily flights to nearly 100 destinations around the world.

United has focused recently on developing an African network to provide consistent options for U.S. travelers. The service will supplement United’s existing flights to four cities in three countries in Africa. It will also allow customers to connect in Cape Town to other points in South Africa, and to other countries in the southern region of the African continent.

The Washington D.C. to Cape Town route is currently the largest between the U.S. and South Africa without nonstop service. D.C. is the second largest point in the U.S. for Cape Town demand and holds the fifth largest South-African-born population.

United’s proposed weekly flights will address this gap and complement United’s existing South Africa service between New York/Newark and Cape Town and Johannesburg.