South African Airways Changes Flight Network as Part of Restructuring

South African Airways (SAA) has announced a number of changes to its route network as part of its restructuring plan. All of the changes are effective February 29; the airline’s flight schedule for February remains unchanged. 

SAA said it will continue to operate all international services between Johannesburg and Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York, Perth and Washington via Accra, as well as regional services from Johannesburg to Blantyre, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Mauritius, Nairobi, Victoria Falls and Windhoek.

Effective February 29, regional and international services from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Livingston, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo will end. 

On its domestic route network, the airline said that it will continue to serve Cape Town “on a reduced basis.” All other domestic routes, including to Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, will end by February 29. Domestic routes operated by SAA’s sister carrier, Mango, will not be affected by the changes.

All customers booked on cancelled international and regional routes will receive a full refund, SAA said. Those booked on cancelled domestic flights will be re-accommodated on Mango. 

SAA said that it does not intend to make any further significant network changes. 

SAA filed for business rescue, a process that is very similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws in the United States, in early December 2019. Since then it has secured additional funding by commercial banks and other lenders to use during the restructuring process. Mango, along with South African Express and Airlink, have not been affected by the process and have continued to operate normally. 

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