Due to the fast moving nature of the airline industry currently story, we have updated this story from the one published this morning (March 31), thanks to information received.
Only 14 of Barsa’s 32 international airline members offering flights out of South Africa are currently operating and permitting South African passengers to travel on them.
These figures highlight the seriousness of the international travel bans imposed against South Africa which have resulted in a 56% reduction in air connectivity options for South African travellers..
The airlines that are operating flights and that are permitting South Africans to fly on them are as follows:
1. Air Botswana
2. Air France
3. Air Mozambique (LAM)
4. EgyptAir
5. Ethiopian Airlines
6. Fastjet
7. Kenya Airways
8. Lufthansa
9. Proflight Zambia
10. Qatar Airways
11. Turkish Airlines
12. El Al
13. SWISS
14. TAAG
The airlines that are not operating or are not permitting South African-originating traffic to board in SA are as follows:
1. Air Austral
2. Air Mauritius - only cargo
3. Air Namibia
4. Air Seychelles
5. Alitalia
6. British Airways
7. Cathay Pacific
8. Delta Airlines
9. Emirates - suspension of passenger uplift from South Africa
10. Etihad
11. KLM - only Dutch Nationals and EU Residents allowed
12. Latam
13. Qantas
14. RwandAir
15. SAA
16. Saudi Arabian Airlines
17. Singapore Airlines - SQ only carrying Singapore Citizens or permanent residents on outbound flights
18. Virgin Atlantic
Barsa ceo, Zuks Ramasia, told Travel News that Barsa was compiling a weekly update to track the status of every airline that operated to South Africa, as the situation was so fluid. She stressed the seriousness of South Africa’s loss of air connectivity and talked about the importance for industry and government to work together to address the negative publicity surrounding the “SA Variant”. “We are not communicating enough about how South Africa is addressing COVID-19,” she said adding that Barsa was currently engaging with embassies to try and address the situation on an individual basis.
