Travellers woke up to the news that South African Airways (SAA) has cancelled "a few domestic flights” on Tuesday, January 21.
The airline has since revealed flight cancellations until January 24, 2020, on select routes.
SAA Spokesperson Tlali Tlali said in a statement that the airline was in the process of consolidating selected domestic flights between the airline’s main hub, Oliver Tambo International Airport Johannesburg (JNB) and Cape Town (CPT), as well as between Johannesburg (JNB) and Durban’s King Shaka (DUR) airports.
SAA will also cancel selected services between Johannesburg (JNB) and Munich (MUC). SAA will re-accommodate passengers on its services between Johannesburg (JNB) and Frankfurt (FRA) as well as London Heathrow (LHR).
Tlali said: “SAA is working closely with its sister airline, Mango, to re-accommodate passengers on alternative services operated by both airlines to minimise disruption, and thereby ensure passengers reach their destination as quickly as possible.
“Some passengers travelling to Munich, and others travelling via Munich to other destinations, will be re-accommodated for some of their journey on partner airlines in the Star Alliance to minimise delays.”
According to Tlali, the decisions were in line with SAA’s usual policy of reviewing flights and consolidating services with low demand. He said during the current process of Business Rescue, the cancellations represent a responsible strategy to conserve cash and optimise the airline’s position ahead of any further capital investment.
“The consolidation on the Cape Town route is also necessary as SAA has been operating training flights for pilots on the new state-of-the-art Airbus 350-900 aircraft on this route, before transferring the new planes to international routes.
“The introduction of these larger aircraft has resulted in temporary surplus capacity on the route. SAA will be reviewing further possible flight schedule amendments over the coming days. Any operational changes will be communicated to our travel trade partners and customers at the earliest opportunity and passengers will be re-accommodated on other airlines wherever possible,” he said.
The following domestic flights operated by SAA have been cancelled:
Johannesburg (JNB) – Cape Town (CPT)
SA303 Depart 05:30 Arrive 07:35 Dates: January 20, 21, 24
SA307 Depart 07:00 Arrive 09:05 Dates: January 21
Cape Town (CPT) – Johannesburg (JNB)
SA316 Depart 08:20 Arrive 10:15 Dates: January 20, 21, 24
SA322 Depart 09:50 Arrive 11:45 Dates: January 21
Johannesburg (JNB) – Durban (DUR)
SA527 Depart 06:30 Arrive 07:35 Dates: January 20, 21, 22 & 23
SA543 Depart 09:55 Arrive 11:00 Dates:January 20, 21, 22 & 23
SA571 Depart 16”:55 Arrive 18:00 Dates: January 20 & 21
Durban (DUR) – Johannesburg (JNB)
SA534 Depart 08:05 Arrive 09:10 Dates: January 20, 21, 22, 23
SA550 Depart 11:30 Arrive 12:35 Dates: January 20, 21, 22, 23
SA578 Depart 18:40 Arrive 19:45 Dates: January 20, 21
The following international flights have been cancelled:
Johannesburg (JNB) – Munich (MUC)
SA264 Depart 21:15 Arrive 07:00 Dates: January 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Munich (MUC) – Johannesburg (JNB)
SA265 Depart 20:30 Arrive 08:20 Dates: January 20, 21, 22, 23, 24