South African Airways (SAA) is suspending operations to the southeastern African nation of Malawi from the end of November in what SAA CEO John Lamola describes as “acute foreign currency shortages and the escalation to blocked funds”.
After announcing last week it had been monitoring the situation, the airline has now confirmed that a triangular service connecting South Africa with the Malawian destinations of Lilongwe and Blantyre will now be suspended effective from 30 November 2023.
Whilst Lamola stresses that “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,” he added that the “small but growing airline cannot commit to routes that are not financially sustainable”.
However, he concluded that South African Airways remains "open to resuming the route to Malawi as soon as the situation warrants the substance of financially efficient operations”.