South Africa to phase out coronavius lockdown: Airlines have adjusted plans to resume operations! [update]

update (11 May 2020): South Africa's state-owned flag carrier, South African Airways (SAA), which has been fighting for its survival since entering a form of bankruptcy protection in December 2019, has announced that it will continue to operate repatriation and cargo flights during the month of May 2020 and beyond. [more]

update (07 May 2020): All flights, "repatriation or otherwise", operated by South African Airways (SAA) will stop on 08 May 2020. According to South Africa's Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, announced that "SAA, as it exists, will not exist into the future, partly for the reasons that it was not competitive and unviable, but also because of the whole environment – both within aviation and the economy more generally – has changed very significantly. […] Nobody can quite anticipate what air travel is going to be like even two months down the line".

update (05 May 2020): Comair enters business rescue! [more]

South Africa's Government will implement a gradual and phased recovery of economic activity from 01 May 2020 with the alert level be eased from highest level 5 to level 4. The Government has indicated that this risk-adjusted approach to the coronavirus is expected to last at least 6 - 8 months until the alert level will reach level 1. Limited domestic air travel will be permitted only from alert level 3 in special circumstances, while unristricted interprovincial travel is only permitted from lockdown level 2. 

via www.stateofthenation.gov.za/

South Africa's airlines have therefore again adjusted their planes to resume operations.  The country's flag carrier, South African Airways, as well as its subsidary Mango, have provisionally suspended all flights until 31 May 2020 and anticipate to resume services from 01 June 2020. FlySafair will suspend all scheduled operations until the travel restrictions are lifted. Comair, which operates scheduled services on domestic routes in South Africa as a British Airways franchisee and also operates as a low-cost carrier under its own kulula.com brand, has announced that flights will remain suspended for the duration of the lockdown in South Africa. Regional carrier will inform the public regarding the date or service resumption once the lockdown in South Africa has been phased out. CemAir, which will operate several repatriation flights in early May 2020, has not made any further plans public. We'll keep you posted!