South African Airways (SAA) is cancelling all of its domestic routes apart from Johannesburg to Cape Town, the joint Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) of South African Airways announced on Thursday. The BRPs also announced that it is exploring the sale of some of the embattled airline's assets, and has confirmed that staff cuts will have to be made.

All domestic destinations, including Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, will cease to be operated by SAA on 29 February 2020. Domestic routes operated by Mango will not be affected by the changes.

"On the domestic route network, SAA will continue to serve Cape Town on a reduced basis."

On 29 February 2020, SAA will also close the regional and international services from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Livingston, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo.

SAA will continue to operate all international services between Johannesburg and Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York, Perth and Washington via Accra.

Regional services to be retained include from Johannesburg to Blantyre, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Mauritius, Nairobi, Victoria Falls and Windhoek.

"Following a careful analysis of SAA’s liquidity challenges and after consultations with all relevant stakeholders, the BRPs have identified which routes will be retained to drive the restructured national carrier towards profitability," according to a statement released on Thursday afternoon.

"To improve the airline’s liquidity, rationalisation programmes are under consideration for SAA’s subsidiaries, as well as the sale of selected assets. The BRPs will continue to explore viable investment opportunities with potential investors in respect of SAA."

The BRPs Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana said in a statement that they want to retain as many jobs as possible, but that "a reduction in the number of employees will unfortunately be necessary”.

Cancelled flights

All customers booked on any cancelled international and regional routes will receive a full refund. Customers booked on cancelled domestic flights will be re-accommodated on services operated by Mango.

"SAA does not intend to make any further significant network changes. Passengers and travel agents can therefore feel confident about booking future travel with South African Airways," the BRPs said.

The flight schedule for February remains unchanged. 

Matuson and Dongwana said they have worked closely with key stakeholders including industry specialists, government, creditors and executive management to develop a comprehensive restructuring programme. A final business rescue plan will be published in late February and subsequently presented to creditors for approval.

"In line with SAA’s commitment to take urgent action to conserve cash, and create a viable platform for a successful future, key measures need to be implemented now."

These measures include targeted changes to the route network, deployment of more fuel-efficient aircraft, optimisation of organisational structures and renegotiation of key contracts with suppliers.

“The initiatives we are taking now will strengthen SAA’s business. We believe that this should provide reassurance to our loyal customers that SAA is moving in the right direction. We are focused on our mandate to restore SAA’s commercial health and create an airline that South Africans will be proud of”, commented the BRPs.