Pretoria – South African Airways (SAA) will suspend flights between Johannesburg and Abuja, Nigeria, as of March.
The suspension of the national carrier’s three weekly non-stop flights between Johannesburg and Abuja is due to the upgrade work on the runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
The suspension will apply from 6 March 2017, said the airline in a statement on Tuesday.
“The airport authorities in Abuja announced that they will close Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on 8 March for a period of six weeks in order for scheduled repairs and upgrade work to be carried out.
“South African Airways regrets any inconvenience to our customers, but we would like to give the assurance that all affected customers will be accommodated on our flights to and from Lagos,” said SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali.
Flights SA 088 from Johannesburg (JNB) to Abuja (ABV) and SA 089 from Abuja (ABV) to Johannesburg (JNB) will be affected by the suspension.
“As a network carrier, we considered an option to fly elsewhere in Nigeria during the repair works. However, such an option did not prove viable for us, given its implications on our network, as it would impact on aircraft availability and connectivity for our passengers,” said Tlali.
Affected customers, who already hold tickets and those planning to travel to Nigeria over this time, will be re-accommodated on SA060 Johannesburg to Lagos and SA061 Lagos to Johannesburg.
The airline said the following rebooking conditions will be applicable:
- Rebook on a South African Airways flight to Lagos, Nigeria;
- Passengers accepting to travel to Lagos and find their own way to Abuja and vice versa will do so at their own cost;
- Should passengers prefer to travel to Abuja at a later date, they may request a date change on a SAA operated flight at no extra charge, subject to the same booking class available on the same route;
- Change of cabin will not be permitted;
- Tickets must be re-issued on/before 24 February 2017. The issuing agent may re-issue the ticket;
- Travel must commence on/after 6 March 2017 and on/before 18 April 2017 for travel to and from Lagos;
- Tickets to be endorsed “INVOL Re-route due to ABV Airport Closure – Date”;
- In the event that a customer does not want to travel to Lagos, they can request a full refund of the unused ticket.
