SAA to terminate Abu Dhabi route

The National Treasury has announced that State-owned flag carrier South African Airways (SAA) had been given permission by the Minister of Finance to end operations on the Johannesburg-Abu Dhabi route. The airline started flying this route in March last year, in a code-sharing agreement with Etihad Airways.

Unfortunately, the connection did not perform as well as predicted. Actions taken by SAA to stimulate financial returns on the route were not sufficiently successful, which, in the words of National Treasury, warranted “that decisive action be taken to mitigate the negative impact on the airline”.

Although SAA will terminate the Johannesburg-Abu Dhabi route, Etihad will continue to fly it. SAA passengers will still be able to use it, to connect to a variety of cities in Asia, including China and India, as well as in the Middle East and Europe. No date has been given for the ending of SAA operations to and from Abu Dhabi.

In coming to its decision to agree to the termination of this route, National Treasury worked closely with the Department of Tourism, in order to determine the costs and benefits of ending it. Both agencies concluded that ending the route would not adversely affect either the country’s air connectivity or its tourism sector. They also concluded that terminating the route would be the best option for both SAA and South Africa.