Virgin Atlantic has launched a second daily flight between London Heathrow and Johannesburg.

The new flight is also operated by a Boeing 787-9, enabling Virgin Atlantic Cargo to offer US customers additional capacity to South Africa via London.

According to Virgin, US-South Africa volumes in the first eight months of 2018 have shown a year-on-year growth of 8%, while traffic from Johannesburg is 2% higher.

Exports to Johannesburg include a wide range of commodities, from fish and foodstuffs, to pharmaceuticals, books and magazines, agricultural spares, electrical components and automotive parts.

The flight from Johannesburg carries perishables, including pre-packed fruit salads, vegetables and stone fruits, as well as car parts, computer components, mining equipment and personal effects. The route is also popular for courier traffic and customers moving valuable cargo.

“We are experiencing a high level of demand for capacity to and from South Africa, so the launch of a second daily service will go some way to providing the extra space our customers in the UK, US and South Africa need,” said Dominic Kennedy, managing director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo. “On October 28, our first day of double-daily services, both flights operated with full payloads totalling 34 tonnes and we expect this to continue given the broad range of goods moving to and from Johannesburg. This is one of our best-ever years on the route, which Virgin has now served for over 22 years.”