South African Airways (SAA) is suspending operations to Malawi at the end of November citing the country’s turbulent economy.
The carrier currently offers one route to the southeastern Africa nation, flying from Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) to Blantyre (BLZ) and on to Lilongwe (LLW) before returning to JNB. The service operates twice a week using Airbus A320 aircraft.
However, operations will cease starting Nov. 30. SAA CEO John Lamola says the decision is a “carefully considered risk management intervention” in response to Malawi’s economic challenges, including “acute foreign currency shortages and the escalation of blocked funds.”
The country’s currency lost nearly half its value against the U.S. dollar earlier this month, following which the Malawi government secured a loan from the International Monetary Fund. As well as grappling with high inflation, Malawi is also battling medicine, fertilizer and fuel shortages.
“This move should not be interpreted as a step back from the airline’s commitment to serving the people of Malawi and promoting trade links between South Africa and Malawi,” Lamola says. “As the new leadership of SAA—and as a small but growing airline—we cannot commit to routes that are not financially sustainable.”
Lamola adds that the carrier will “continue to closely monitor the situation” and remains open to resuming the route to Blantyre and Lilongwe “as soon as the situation warrants the substance of financially efficient operations.”
SAA introduced the triangle route in May 2023, becoming the third airline to operate direct flights between South Africa and Malawi. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Airlink flies three times per week to both BLZ and LLW at the present time, while Ethiopian Airlines offers a daily JNB-BLZ-LLW route.
The suspension of the Malawi service comes weeks after SAA resumed intercontinental flights for the first time in over three years. On Oct. 31, the carrier introduced a new route from Cape Town International Airport (CPT) to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport (GRU), operating 2X-weekly. Operations between JNB and GRU restarted on Nov. 6, also operating twice a week.
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