SAA will launch a new service with five flights per week from OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) to LubumbashiInternationalAirport (FBM) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, starting November 1.
The new route will be operated as follows:
Lubumbashi, thesecond-largestcity and the mining capital of the DRC, is a base for many of the country's biggest mining companies. It is the top copper producer in Africa, and the fourth largest globally. It also produces half of the worlds cobalt, most of which comes from Katanga Province.
Lubumbashi is an important link in a chain known as the Lobito Railroad Corridor, which transports mining products from the interior to the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola. With the global surge in the demand for and the production of electric vehicles, the corridors importance is constantly growing, along with the citys importance as an economic hub for the DRC.
