South African Airways (SAA) will resume flights to Mauritius in March following the lifting of a travel ban on the island nation last month, SAA interim CEO Thomas Kgokolo announced on Wednesday.
Kgokolo said the airline welcomed the decision to re-open borders, and flights would resume on 1 March to the Indian Ocean Island state.
“We are delighted to welcome our customers back on the Mauritius route following the decision by the Mauritian government to rescind its decision to stop operations, particularly during the height of the summer season, due to Covid-19 concerns,” the chief executive said.
The nation banned travel from Southern African countries in November last year following the emergence of the Covid-19 omicron variant whose mutation was first discovered in South Africa.
This led to Europe and other Western countries imposing a ban on air travel by several Southern African countries till now.
Meanwhile, Kgokolo also announced that the SAA was “thrilled that we can add Johannesburg-Durban flight to our local network.”
He added: “The short-haul flight is a vital one in linking two economically important cities. We will be announcing a special Durban fare deal for our Voyager programme members shortly.”
He said the airline was looking forward to a “successful operation start to the year following a tumultuous past two years, where the airline was grounded and put under a business rescue plan.”
NM/as/APA