Cape Town travellers no longer need to route through Johannesburg for two of the Indian Ocean's most popular islands. Airlink has launched direct services from Cape Town to both Mauritius and Zanzibar this October, cutting hours off a trip that previously required a connection up north.

The Mauritius route, Airlink's first to the island, took off on 2 October 2026 and runs twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. It's a daylight schedule: depart Cape Town at 10:05, land at 17:15, then fly back at 18:15 and arrive home by 22:35. The timing is aimed at holidaymakers who want to maximise time on the island, while still being workable for business traffic — and there's real business traffic. More than 140 South African companies operate in Mauritius across agriculture, manufacturing, consumer goods and ICT, and South Africa ranks among the island's biggest source markets out of the 1.4 million visitors it welcomed in 2025.

Zanzibar follows a similar pattern. The route started on 3 October 2026, flying once a week on Saturdays. Expect just over six hours in the air: wheels up at 08:15 and down in Zanzibar at 14:30, with the return leg leaving at 15:30 and reaching Cape Town at 20:50. Until now, the Johannesburg detour was the only realistic option for this trip. Zanzibar's appeal is straightforward — white-sand beaches, warm water and the atmospheric streets of historic Stone Town.

Both routes are flown on Airlink's new Embraer E195-E2, and the cabin layout is a genuine selling point. Economy is configured two-by-two, so there are no middle seats anywhere on the plane — every passenger gets a window or an aisle. Business Class uses a staggered layout for extra personal space, with complimentary meals and drinks, power outlets, bigger windows and decent overhead storage. In a 124-seat, two-class setup, the aircraft feels closer to a long-haul product than the usual regional hop.

For Cape Town-based travellers, the practical win is obvious: a Saturday morning departure puts you on a Zanzibar beach by mid-afternoon, and the twice-weekly Mauritius schedule makes a long weekend feasible without burning a day on connections. It also opens up easier island-hopping combinations for anyone planning a two-stop Indian Ocean trip.

The details here come from The South African Travel.