By Chisomo Phiri
South African Airways (SAA) has on Tuesday November 21,2023 announced suspension of its services to Malawi (Lilongwe and Blantyre), with effect from Thursday November 30, 2023,due to the country’s prevailing economic situation compounded by the recent 44 percent kwacha devaluation and acute forex shortages.
In a statement,SAA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Prof. John Lamola, says the decision to cancel the route is a carefully considered risk management intervention in response to Malawi’s current economic
challenges.
“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.
“As the new leadership of SAA and as a small but growing airline, we cannot commit to routes that are not financially sustainable,” says Lamola in a statement made available to 247 Malawi News.
He however, says SAA values its relationship with the Malawian market and thanks its customers for their understanding and continued support during these challenging times.
Adds Lamola: “We will continue to closely monitor the situation. We remain open to resuming the route to Malawi as soon as the situation warrants the substance of financially efficient operations from this route.”
In an industry alert last week, the company said that it was monitoring the situation of substantial devaluation of the Malawian Kwacha, acute foreign currency shortages, and the escalation of blocked funds closely before making the difficult decision to cancel its route to Malawi.
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