In a surprising reversal, Qatar Airways today, Saturday, December 11, posted a notice on its website saying that with immediate effect, Qatar Airways would no longer accept passengers travelling from five Southern African countries into its global network.
It was only this past Thursday December 9, when QR sent out a release saying it would accept outbound passengers from South Africa and the other four countries from December 12, and agents rejoiced at the return of some outbound airlift.
Passengers who are booked on Qatar Airways flights from Luanda; Maputo; Johannesburg; Cape Town; Durban; Lusaka and Harare, will not be accepted for travel until further notice, says the website.
The notice says: “These restrictions will remain in place until we receive further guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO). We will continue to review the situation on a daily basis and will update www.qatarairways.com as new information becomes available.
A trade communique from the airline said only that due to operational reasons the airline had had to postpone the start of outbound passenger services from south Africa for a short period of time.
