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JOHANNESBURG – South African Airways (SAA) said on Wednesday that it had cancelled 162 international and regional flights until the end of this month due to low demand and restrictions linked to the Coronavirus.

SAA is under a form of bankruptcy protection and battling for its survival. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday announced travel bans affecting several countries where SAA flies, including the United States, Britain and Germany.

“The effects of the outbreak of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) have led to travel disruptions and restrictions across the world, leading to the grounding of aircraft, releasing employees, and cancelling flights for many airlines. SAA is not immune to these realities,” it said in a statement.

As a result, the airline reviewed its flight schedule and decided to operate flights under circumstances and business considerations that will require scheduling of flights.

“Notwithstanding the decline in demand, SAA continues to aggressively review its schedule to match capacity with demand to the extent possible. Where feasible, we will consider options that include cancelling and merging flights,” said SAA chief commercial officer, Philip Saunders.

For the period 17 until 31 March 2020, SAA has cancelled a total of 162 flights. Of these, 38 are international and 124 are regional (destinations on the African continent) flights.

“Our priority is to assist those travelers wishing to repatriate to their home countries to do so as quickly and efficiently as possible. Naturally, this includes South African citizens abroad wishing to return home,” Saunders said.

Subject to the conditions set out in the travel ban announced by government in South Africa, SAA will also facilitate the transfer of qualifying passengers to or from the destinations it flies to, which have been classified as high-risk areas.

-Reuters/The Citizen