SAA to reinstate some cancelled domestic routes – Gordhan

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has revealed that some of the domestic routes that were cancelled will be reinstated “soon”.

Speaking at the Fedusa bargaining conference about the current state of state-owned entities on Wednesday, Gordhan told the SABC that government was working with Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) to reinstate some routes.

He said: “We want absolute clarity on the routes, even some of the domestic routes that have currently been cancelled will be reinstated, perhaps in a different form. We’re working hard with the Business Rescue Practitioners to give them all the support they need in order to give certainty about where SAA can fly and where bookings can be made.”

Earlier last month, Business Rescue Practitioners announced SAA would, on 29 February, stop operating flights on all domestic routes, except between Johannesburg and Cape Town. Domestic routes operated by Mango would not be affected by the changes.

Apart from the domestic routes, 11 regional and international routes will also be cancelled at the end of February. These include flights from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Livingston, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo.

“On the domestic route network, SAA will continue to serve Cape Town on a reduced basis,” the statement read.

SAA would also close the regional and international services from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo.

Also read: Conversation to liquidate SAA ‘not dead’ yet

“SAA will continue to operate all international services between Johannesburg and Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York, Perth and Washington via Accra.

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

“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.

“SAA does not intend to make any further significant network changes. Passengers and travel agents can, therefore, feel confident about booking future travel with South African Airways,” the BRPs said.

“The flight schedule for February remains unchanged.

“Following a careful analysis of SAA’s liquidity challenges and after consultations with all relevant stakeholders, the BRPs have identified which routes will be retained to drive the restructured national carrier towards profitability,” according to the statement.

“To improve the airline’s liquidity, rationalisation programmes are under consideration for SAA’s subsidiaries, as well as the sale of selected assets. The BRPs will continue to explore viable investment opportunities with potential investors in respect of SAA.”

(Background reporting, Carina Koen)

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