South African Airways (SAA) has cancelled, with the exception of a few flights, all local and international flights for Friday (15 November) and Saturday (16 November).
The airline made the announcement late Wednesday evening. The cancellation of flights was brought on by a planned strike by the South African Airways Cabin Crew Association (SACAA) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) on Friday. The strike was called because the embattled airline and workers could not come to an agreement on wage increases. The airline has also announced that it has started a restructuring process, in which 994 employees will be affected.
“It is expected that the strike would cause maximum disruptions to SAA operations; therefore, in the best interest of protecting our customers and their travel plans, we have taken the decision to cancel all domestic, regional, and international flights on Friday 15 November 2019 and Saturday 16 November 2019, with the exception of a few international flights. Customers are requested not to travel to their departure airport unless in possession of a rebooked itinerary,” the airline said in a statement.
FIN24 reports that all passengers affected by the strike, will be allowed to reboot their flights at no additional costs. This must be done before 30 November. The new booking will have to be for a flight before or on 30 October 2020. In case a passenger chooses not to fly anymore, he/she will be reimbursed in full.
The cancellations only affect flights operated by SAA. All flights operated on their partner airlines Mango, SA Express and Airlink will not be affected.
