South African Airways (SAA) will suspend service to Malawi (Lilongwe and Blantyre), due to the recent economic challenges in Malawi.
In an industry alert last week, SAA mentioned that it was monitoring the situation of substantial devaluation of the Malawian Kwacha, acute foreign currency shortages, and the escalation of blocked funds, closely before making the difficult decision to cancel its route to Malawi. The suspension of services to Malawi is effective from Thursday, 30th November 2023.
SAA’s Chief Executive Officer, Prof. John Lamola, says SAA’s decision to cancel the route is a carefully considered risk management intervention in response to Malawi’s current economic challenges.
“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. As the new leadership of SAA – and as a small but growing airline – we cannot commit to routes that are not financially sustainable.
“SAA values its relationship with the Malawian market and thanks its customers for their understanding and continued support during these challenging times. We will continue to closely monitor the situation. We remain open to resuming the route to Malawi as soon as the situation warrants the substance of financially efficient operations from this route,” added Lamola.
SAA apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause and thanks its customers for their understanding and continued support during these challenging times.