The first international flights landed in South Africa on Thursday morning, marking the official reopening of the country's borders after more than six months of closure to fight the Covid-19 epidemic.
Read also: More than 500,000 cases of coronavirus identified in South Africa
Lufthansa was the first European airline to resume operations in the country, with a flight out of Frankfurt that landed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT).
Planes have also arrived from Kenya, Zambia and neighboring Zimbabwe.
The continent's first industrialized country, South Africa closed its borders on March 27, the start of strict containment to fight the Covid-19 epidemic.
Restrictions have been gradually relaxed since May, but international borders had so far remained closed.
600,000 jobs cut
The travel ban has dealt a heavy blow to tourism, which employs around 1.5 million people and contributes more than 8.5% of GDP, according to the South African Tourism Business Council (TBCSA).
More than 600,000 direct jobs have thus been lost.
The industry hopes that the resumption of international flights will revive tourism as the peak season approaches, in December in southern Africa.
But potential tourists from around fifty countries with still high infection levels remain banned from entering the territory for the moment.
This includes the main sources of foreign visitors to South Africa, such as Great Britain, Russia and the United States.
The list of restricted countries will be revised every two weeks.
Visitors from countries not on this list are required to present a negative test for Covid-19 carried out less than 72 hours before departure.
Their temperature will be checked on arrival and they will have to install a tracking application on their mobile phone.
Travelers from all over Africa are allowed to travel to South Africa with the required papers and according to the same health protocol (PCR test and temperature checks on arrival).
South Africa is the African country most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, with 6,667 deaths for a total of 672,572 cases.
