SAA suspends all international flights
South African Airways (SAA) has announced the suspension of all international services amid the COVDI-19 Coronavirus outbreak in South Africa.
SAA says in a statement that the service will be suspended until 31 May.
SAA spokesperson, Tlali Tlali says the suspension is in response to a government's travel ban aimed at stopping the transmission of the coronavirus.
"The COVID-19 pandemic and attendant travel restrictions resulted in substantial decline in demand for air travel. The situation caused many airlines across the world to ground aircraft, release their employees, and to cancel flights,” he says.
“In the case of SAA, this decision means that SAA will only render services on its regional and domestic routes.”
SAA Acting CEO, Zuks Ramasia says the airline operates in three markets that have not been declared high-risk, all of which are now cancelled.
“It is all our responsibility, not just the government’s, to curb further transmission of the virus. In addition, the increasing risks to our crew of contracting the virus, including the possibility of being trapped in foreign destinations as a consequence of increasing travel bans, cannot be ignored,” says Ramasia.
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On Thursday President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement after meeting with religious leaders in Pretoria on plans to tackle the COVID-19 disaster. Ramaphosa pleaded with religious leaders to help government with containing the continuous spread of the virus in light of this increase.