Photo by: Reuters
South African national flag carrier South African Airways (SAA) announced on Tuesday that it was extending its cancellation of flights between Johannesburg and Blantyre, Malawi. The extension means that the flights to and from Blantyre scheduled for Wednesday January 23 have now been cancelled.
Passengers can be re-routed, if they wish, on to SAA’s flights between Johannesburg and Lilongwe in Malawi. Lilongwe is Malawi’s capital and Blantyre is the country’s commercial centre. The two cities are about 360 km apart, by road, and are connected by domestic air flights, railway as well as by bus and car.
SAA originally cancelled its Johannesburg-Blantyre flights for Saturday and Monday, as a result of the annual audit (carried out by the South African Civil Aviation Authority or SACAA) discovering serious safety non-compliance at the Malawian airport. Reportedly, serious failings included a lack of a reliable fire engine and ambulance (due to lack of maintenance) and an inadequate and vandalised perimeter fence.
At the time, the airline issued a statement saying “[w]hile the airport authority continues to keep the airport open, the essential services at Chileka [Blantyre] International Airport are not fully compliant with minimum standards required for SAA to operate in line with its licensing conditions.” A corrective action plan is now being implemented at Chileka. SAA has sent a team from head office to reinforce its local staff in Blantyre.
“We are encouraged by the level of commitment and urgency displayed by the authorities in working towards resolving the situation as speedily as possible,” stated SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali. “We apologise to our passengers and customers for the inconvenience caused by these cancellations.”
“We are grateful to SACAA and appreciate their efforts in working with us to ensure the safety of our operations for the benefit of our customers and crew,” he added. “We intend to maintain the prescribed operating standards and will not hesitate to take all and necessary steps in the interests of safety.”