South African exits from 11 travel markets on 29 February 2020

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
                  / KUCINTA SETIA

As part of its business restructuring plans, South African Airways has announced that all its international services from Johannesburg to Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, Entebbe, Sao Paulo and from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra will be withdrawn on 29 February 2020. The airline will not resume scheduled flights to these cities anymore, citing poor air traffic performance on the routes, especially due to the Hong Kong protests and novel coronavirus pandemic.

However, South African Airways' flights between Johannesburg and Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York and Perth as well as flights from Johannesburg to Washington via Accra will continue.

Regional services to be retained include from Johannesburg to Blantyre, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Mauritius, Nairobi, Victoria Falls, Livingston and Windhoek.

On the domestic route network, South African Airways will continue to serve Cape Town on a reduced basis.

All other domestic destinations, including Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, will cease to be operated by South African Airways on 29 February 2020. Domestic routes operated by its low-cost subsidiary Mango will not be affected by the changes.

All customers booked on any cancelled international and regional routes will receive a full refund. Customers booked on cancelled domestic flights will be re-accommodated on services operated by Mango.

South African Airways does not intend to make any further significant route network changes. Passengers and travel agents can therefore feel confident about booking future travel with the airline.