South African Airways to suspend operations to Malawi in late Nov-2023

South African Airways (SAA) announced (21-Nov-2023) plans to suspend Lilongwe and Blantyre services, effective 30-Nov-2023, due to "recent economic challenges in Malawi". SAA confirmed it has been "monitoring the situation of substantial devaluation of the Malawian Kwacha, acute foreign currency shortages, and the escalation of blocked funds". SAA CEO John Lamola stated: "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", but added: "We cannot commit to routes that are not financially sustainable". Mr Lamola said: "We remain open to resuming the route to Malawi as soon as the situation warrants the substance of financially efficient operations from this route". [more - original PR]