South African Airways Stops Flights To Malawi

By Joseph Dumbula

The South African Airways says it will suspend its operations to Lilongwe and Blantyre in Malawi at the end of November, citing economic challenges currently faced in the Southern African country.

In a statement, SAA’s Chief Executive Officer, Professor John Lamola, says the decision to cancel the route is a carefully considered risk management intervention in response to Malawi’s current economic challenges.

“SAA will suspend service to Malawi (Lilongwe and Blantyre), due to the recent economic challenges in Malawi. In an industry alert last week, SAA mentioned 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. The suspension of services to Malawi is effective from Thursday, 30th November 2023,” reads part of the statement.

Malawi is currently battling an economic crisis that has led to fuel shortages, inflated food prices and a shortage of foreign exchange.

Last week, Malawi's central bank devalued the country's currency - the Kwacha - to the US Dollar by almost 30%.

The currency's value to the US Dollar currently sits at less than 1%.

Suspending flights to Malawi will bring SAA's African destinations down from eleven to nine as of November 2023.

It has been trying to increase its footprint within the continent since coming out of business rescue two years ago.