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The Embattled South African Airways (SAA) on Friday said that it was suspending all its international flights up until the end of May in light of a government travel ban aimed at stopping transmission of the novel coronavirus.
"In support of efforts by government in dealing with this pandemic, and in the best interests of our crew, passengers and the public, we have decided to suspend all international and regional flights until 31 May 2020," said SAA's CEO Zuks Ramasia.
"It is a responsibility of all of us and not just government to curb further transmission of the virus. In addition, the increasing risks to our crew of contracting the virus including the possibility of being trapped in foreign destinations as a consequence of increasing travel bans cannot be ignored," she said.
SAA operates in three markets that cover countries listed in the travel ban as high-risk areas - the US, the UK and Germany - as well as additional flights to countries that have not been declared high risk, such as Australia and Brazil.
As the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 increased, South African government has published a number of regulations set to tackle the spread of the outbreak. President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on religious leaders to assist the government in enforcing its ban on gatherings of more than 100 people across the country - even at funerals.
South African Police Minister Bheki Cele on Friday said they will arrest anyone who defies government measures.
