South Africa's most punctual domestic airlines in January 2017!

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has published the on-time performance results of domestic airlines’ flying out of OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town and Durban's King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in January 2017.
On-Time Performance is measured by comparing the actual off-block time (when aircraft pushes back) against the airline schedule time for a departing flight. The measurement is done in accordance with the IATA (International Airlines Transport Association) universal standard benchmark with considers a 15 minute deviation from the scheduled time as an on-time departure.

OR Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg - 15 Min on Time Performance January 2017 (airport target 87%)

1. FlySafair - 96.13% (December 94.05%) 
2. CemAir - 90.93% (December N.A)
3. Airlink - 90.66% (December 85.23%)
4. British Airways Domestic - 88.33% (December 76.58%)  
5. Mango - 88.32% (December 81.88%) 
6. South African Airways - 85.08% (December 75.54%)
7. Kulula.com - 82.35% (December 76.00%)
8. SA Express - 77.28% (December 67.27%)
9. Fly Blue Crane Aviation - 50.00% (December 71.88%)

Cape Town International Airport (CPT) - 15 Min on Time Performance January 2017 (airport target 90%)

1. FlySafair - 95.63% (December 96.28%) 
2. Airlink - 92.98% (December 89.10%) 
3. Mango - 91.47% (December 86.23%)
4. CemAir - 91.46% (December 88.60%)
5. British Airways Domestic - 89.06% (December 78.05%)
6. South African Airways - 88.74% (December 81.00%)
7. Kulula.com - 86.81% (December 79.37%)
8. SA Express - 85.24% (December 78.64%)  
9. Fly Blue Crane Aviation - 37.50% (December 54.00%)

King Shaka International Airport (DUR), Durban - 15 Min on Time Performance January 2017 (airport target 91%)

1. FlySafair - 96.90% (December 92.34%) 
2. South African Airways - 91.95% (December 86.66%)
3. SA Express - 91.02% (December 82.62%)
4. Mango - 91.01% (December 90.05%)  
5. Airlink - 88.64% (December 81.31%) 
6. British Airways Domestic - 85.47% (December 73.93%)
7. Kulula.com - 82.31% (December 76.63%) 

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RwandAir: Flights to Harare and Mumbai will start in April 2017!

The flag carrier airline of Rwanda, Rwandair, has confirmed the launch dates for its new services to Harare (Zimbabwe) and Mumbai (India). Flights between Kigali International Airport (KGL) in Kigali and Harare International Airport (HRE) in Harare will commence on 01 April 2017 and flights between Kigali and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) in Mumbai on 03 April 2017. The flights to Harare which will be tagged to the existing Lusaka (Zambia) route will be operated daily while the Mumbai flights will be operated non-stop four times per week respectively.

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Kruger National Park: 622 rhinos killed by poachers in 2016!

According to an article in The Lowvelder (20 Jan 2017), a community newspaper in South Africa's Lowveld, Kruger National Park alone lost at least 622 rhinos to illegal poaching activities in 2016. 250 rhinos were poached in Kruger in 2011, 425 in 2012, 606 in 2013, 538 in 2014 and 826 in 2015. During 2016, a total of 281 poachers were arrested for rhino poaching related offences by anti-poaching officials.

The Lowvelder also reports that at least 21 rhinos were killed by poachers in Kruger National Park so far in 2017 (as of 20 Jan 2017).

Johannesburg: The Johannesburg Art Gallery has been temporarily closed!

update (19 April 2017): The Johannesburg Art Gallery in Johannesburg will reopen to the public on 07 May 2017. The first exhibition after the extensive renovations & repairs will be an installation by Lisbon-born Angela Ferreira, whose sculptural works explore and confront the legacy of colonialism in Africa. Lekker!

update (28 Feb 2017):

Get to know what happens in & around your City. @artthisway #ExploreJoburg ^LM pic.twitter.com/LWOSJ2fTDN

— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) February 28, 2017

The Johannesburg Art Gallery in Johannesburg, one of the biggest art collections in South Africa, has been temporarily closed to the public. Heavy rains on 31 Jan 2017 forced gallery staff to move artworks from the walls into storerooms and the basement, so that City of Johannesburg decided close the facility for the next three months for major construction work. 

"This temporary closure will allow the City to conduct a detailed assessment of the building and undertake critical conservation management interventions, whilst the curators work on new exhibitions to kick off in May." (via joburg.org.za)

According to City of Johannesburg's Member of Mayoral Committee for Community Development, Cllr Nonhlanhla Sifumba, leaking in the gallery dates back to 1989 and attempts to repair it over the years have failed. Well...

Johannesburg: Braamfontein's vibrant and thriving art scene! >>

Cape Town: Boulders Penguin Colony undergoes an upgrade!

South African National Parks (SANParks) announced on 30 January 2017 that the Boulders Penguin Colony in Simon's Town, which forms part of the Table Mountain National Park, will undergo an upgrade. The refurbishment will start on 13 February 2017 and is expected to take about 8 month. The upgrade will see various visitor facilities refurbished and re-constructed. To accommodate visitors wishing to enter the Boulders Penguin Colony, the project will be completed in three phases.

Ok now my trip is complete 💙🐧💙🐧 #penguinstyle #penguins #boulderbeach #simonstown #penguinbeach #southafrica #roadtrip

Ein von Heather Renee (@_just_heather_renee) gepostetes Foto am 30. Jan 2017 um 12:26 Uhr

Access to visitors will be uninterrupted during the refurbishment and the operational hours of Table Mountain National Park will remain unchanged. It is however important to note the Boulders Info Centre will be closed during the construction period. Boulders telephone numbers will remain the same and should remain operational over the period.

Malawian Airlines to introduce three new regional flights!

The flag carrier airline of Malawi, Malawian Airlines, is set to introduce flights from Lilongwe International Airport (LLW) in Lilongwe to Harare International Airport (HRE) in Harare, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) in Nairobi (Kenya) and Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) on Zanzibar.
Flights between Lilongwe and Kenya's capital Nairobi (4 weekly flights) are planned to commence on 29 March 2017, while the new service to Zanzibar (from 05 April 2017; 4 weekly flights) is an extension of Malawian Airlines' existing route between Lilongwe and Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar es Salaam. Flights to Harare will start on 05 April 2017 (Lilongwe - Lusaka - Harare - Lilongwe; 1 weekly routing) as well as on 07 April 2017 (Lilongwe <> Blantyre <> Harare; 2 weekly flights)

Lilongwe 17:45 > 21:00 Nairobi (4 weekly flights from 29 March 2017)
Nairobi 06:15 > 07:30 Lilongwe
 
Lilongwe 17:40 > 20:40 Dar es Salaam 21:25 > 21:55 Zanzibar (4 weekly flights from 05 April 2017) 
Zanzibar 05:15 > 05:45 Dar es Salaam 06:30 > 07:30 Lilongwe
 
Lilongwe 09:00 > 10:15 Lusaka 11:00 > 11:55 Harare 12:40 > 13:50 Lilongwe (1 weekly routing from 05 April 2017)

Lilongwe 09:00 > 09:40 Blantyre 10:25 > 11:30 Harare (2 weekly flights from 07 April 2017)
Harare 12:30 > 13:35 Blantyre 14:20 > 15:00  Lilongwe

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Kruger National Park Calendar - March

Weather:

• end of summer...
• still hot and humid during the day, but nights begin to get colder
• last major rainfalls of the season

Temperatures:

• between 18°C - 33°C (Fahrenheit: e.g. 33°C = [(33x9)]/5 + 32 = 91.4°F)
• visit our webcam page for live footage from Kruger National Park!

Landscape:

• Water availability at its peak
• river levels high
• dense vegetation
• grasslands in full seed

Animal Activity

• animal dispersal at its widest
• animals rather relaxed - least competition for resources
• water sources throughout the park are usually full
• buffalo & kudu breeding peak
• many migrant birds leaving 

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