FlySafair will temporarily close all business operations to fully support the government’s mandate to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The domestic airline has joined many other local airlines and businesses who have taken this stance.
The airline said in a statement that it will operate its final flights on March 25, 2020, and aims to resume operations on the morning of April 20, 2020. The airline has decided that it will temporarily close its ticket sales desks, call center, WhatsApp channel and social media accounts during the lockdown period.
Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair, said since its inception in 2014, the airline has flown every day.
“We started FlySafair on October 16, 2014, and have flown every day since. We never envisaged a circumstance that would have to halt operations. Globally, we are in unprecedented times and we believe that the decision taken by our president is the correct one, and we are fully supportive of all efforts undertaken to curb the spread of this virus in our country,” he said.
Customers who have existing flights booked during this period are welcome to make penalty-free changes to alternative dates, either before or after the lockdown. Customers seeking refunds must exchange their reservations to a flight voucher. All eligible bookings will then later be assessed to and converted to cash if requested. These processes can all be done on the FlySafair website at www.flysafair.co.za.
“We have a large number of customers to assist, and very limited time to do so, before the lockdown commences, so our focus at this point is to build tools and provide guidance that will allow customers to self-service. We encourage passengers to monitor our website for regular updates,” he said.
Gordon said FlySafair staff will be on leave during the period and will attend to all issues that arise after it resumes business operations during the lockdown period.
“Our primary objective right now is to look after our customers, our employees, and our partners, while playing our part to ensure that our country emerges from this lockdown in a healthier position,” he added.