JEDDAH - Interlink Airlines, South Africa's private airline, will start its operations to Jeddah from mid-March. "Initially, it will have weekly one frequency between Johannesburg and Jeddah," Murad Ismail, CEO and chief pilot of the airline, told Arab News on the sidelines of a South African tourism trade workshop at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Since its inception in 1997, the airline has developed its infrastructure and capacity to operate scheduled services outside its charter and leasing operations. It has successfully operated Haj and Umrah charters, tour operations, transport of sports bodies and a host of other charter and leasing requests, said Ismail, an official flight examiner who has 26 years experience in the aviation field having worked in all facets of the aviation industry. Issues related to visa, security and tourist infrastructure came up for discussion at the opening ceremony of the workshop.

South African Ambassador John Davies said visa procedures were followed in accordance with bilateral arrangements. "We issue visas as quickly as possible. The turnaround time is fast. During an emergency request , we do issue visas within 24 hours."

The ambassador concurred with South African Consul General Mahdi Basadien's statement that in the normal course visas were issued within 10 working days.

The ambassador said that the bilateral partnership could be further promoted and developed at all levels. The visit of South African President Thabo Mbeki to the Kingdom and his meeting with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah last year had helped further strengthen the relationship.

"Saudi Arabia is a hugely successful country; it is a powerful country not only in the region but even in global terms. South Africa is one of the most spectacular countries in terms of tourism experience," he said and hoped that Saudis would increasingly visit the country for both business and pleasure.

"We find that our tourism is undersold in this part of the world. Our challenge is to bring the tour partners from both countries together and promote tourist traffic. According to the ambassador, South African cities were safe for travelers. "The absence of direct flights to the Kingdom may have contributed to the lack of promotion of tourism. He reminded that an Islamic environment prevailed in some of the country's cities, especially Cape Town.