Struggling South African Airways grounds flights

South Africa’s troubled national airline, South African Airways (SAA), announced today that the company had cancelled some domestic and international flights in order to save money. 

The cancellations include eight flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town, as well as 20 between the capital and Durban. The airline also canceled ten flights between Johannesburg and Munich.

SAA was placed into bankruptcy protection last month, awaiting a $138bn government lifeline to keep services going. The Ministry of Public Services, which oversees SAA, have said work is still under way to raise the funds. 

The crisis at SAA has been a decisive test for President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose administration needs to rein in spending and stabilise beleaguered state-owned companies or face losing the country’s only remaining investment-grade rating. The administration is also struggling with collapsing state energy firm Eskom, which has caused rolling blackouts across the country over the past year.

SAA said in a statement that “These cancellations represent a responsible strategy to conserve cash and optimise the airline's position ahead of any further capital investment”.

The airline also announced it would be reviewing further flight schedule “amendments” in the coming days.

Photo credit: Bloomberg | Waldo Swiegers