SAA to scrap domestic routes, only keeping Joburg and Cape Town
South African Airways (SAA) will cancel all domestic flights except Johannesburg to Cape Town, the embattled airline’s business rescue practitioners announced on Thursday.
All domestic destinations, including Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, will cease to operate at the end of February.
Domestic routes operated by Mango will not be affected.
"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," the business rescuers said in a statement on Thursday.
Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana say this in line with efforts to transform SAA into a sustainable and profitable business.
"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".
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The state-owned entity will also from February 29th close several regional and international services from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Livingston, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo.
"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.
"On 29th February 2020, SAA will close the following regional and international services from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Livingston, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo.”
Matuson and Dongwana say every effort is being taken to limit the impact of job losses.
"It is our intention to restructure the business in a manner that we can retain as many jobs as possible. This will help provide a platform to a viable and sustainable future. However, a reduction in the number of employees will, unfortunately, be necessary.
"The BRPs will engage labour, both organized and non-organized, to reach a solution necessary for a sustainable airline going forward".
All passengers booked in cancelled flights will either be fully re-immersed or re-accommodated on services operated by Mango.