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Durban, a port city in the Republic of South Africa, could soon be accessible from Gatwick Airport, courtesy of Comair.

Comair, not to be confused with the American airline of the same name, was borne from “idle chatter amongst three pilots in the middle of the Egyptian Desert”, back in the mid-forties. The carrier is a franchise partner of British Airways, operating routes to Cape Town, Livingstone, and Victoria Falls, among other African destinations.

The airline’s new route would be the first direct link between London and Durban in “more than a decade”, to quote Linda Pampallis, leader of tour operator, Thompsons Africa. The flight would travel from Gatwick to King Shaka Airport in La Mercy, South Africa, but the details of the landmark connection have yet to be revealed, or even decided.

However, tourism bosses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, where the city of Durban is located, have questioned Comair’s commitment to forging links between London and South Africa. Ndabo Khoza, leader of KwaZulu-Natal’s tourist board, noted that holiday chiefs would rather “get all our ducks in a row”, before proceeding with marketing and ticket sales on the route.

Despite the concern, the development has been described as “exciting” and “amazing” by South Africans. While the reaction might seem a little over-enthusiastic, the brand new King Shaka Airport has only one international airline (Emirates) on its books, offering a single route to Dubai. People wishing to travel to the UK, or indeed, anywhere else, must first journey to Johannesburg, a detour that people are “getting tired of”, according to Durban Chamber of Commerce boss, Andrew Layman.

Comair’s new route is unlikely to take off until 2012 at the earliest.