South African Airways will cancel flights on certain of its regional destinations for operational reasons.

According to a notification sent out to the trade this week, the airline will cut flights to Brazzaville via Pointe Noire in the Congo; Douala in Cameroon via Libreville in Gabon; Kinshasa in the DRC; Entebbe in Uganda; Luanda in Angola; Cotonou in Benin via Libreville in Gabon.

SAA will re-accommodate passengers on alternative days, with change fees waived. Tickets must be re-issued on/before October 17, 2017.

The cancellations are as follows:

• Effective September 25, flight SA084 JNB-PNR-BZV-JNB will operate on Fridays only. Currently the airline services the route on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
• Effective October 9, flight SA086 JNB-LBV-DLA , Fridays only. Currently the airline services this route on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
• Effective October 9, flight SA050 JNB-FIH will operate on Sundays and Thursdays. Currently the airline services the route on Sundays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
• Effective October 9, flight SA160 JNB-EBB will operate on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. Currently the airline services the route on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays.
• Effective October 9, SAA will operate JNB-LAD on Sundays, Tuesdays and Saturdays. Currently the airline services the route daily.
• Effective November 1, flight SA090 JNB-LBV-COO will operate on Mondays and Saturdays. Currently the airline services the route on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

In each case, the same applies for the return flights.

The airline announced in August that it would cancel routes as part of its attempts to regain financial stability. SAA Acting CEO, Musa Zwane, said the executive committee had begun reviewing the airline’s route network and had identified avenues that would help save R900m per annum.

While no pronouncements have been made on route cancellations, Airlink has shown an interest in taking over SAA’s Johannesburg-Brazzaville route.