Europe to Africa Route On Table

Hydro Air, a South African company, is mulling the possibility of launching a sea-air service between Europe and Africa in the longer term. Hydro Air, will launch its first-ever cargo service and first Africa-European air service in the first week of November with a Boeing 747-200 freighter.

Hydro Air cargo's commercial director Louis van Deventer said the company was considering the possibility of a sea-air service in the future. He said the original idea was prompted because larger vessels could not serve smaller ports in Africa either because of the vessel size or due to the lack of suitable equipment at the ports.

Feeder vessels could serve for instance, Angola, Tanzania, Kenya and South African ports. Islands such as Madagascar and Mauritius could also be served in the same way. He added that hundreds of tons of clothing and textiles come off the islands and much is destined for Europe and the U.S.