Originally Posted by
FlyingUnderTheRadar
You missed my hypothetical question (as you continued to focus on the OP's issue).
If I have a single ticket JFK->JHB->HRE. No birth certs are needed because we transiting. Airline boards us. We arrive in JHB and the JHB->HRE is canceled. No flights for two days. Now what? No birth certs. What would the airline do? What would SA immigration do?
This question is really generic to any transit where the onward flight could be canceled. What happens when one is legal to transit but not entry the county?
Airline and immigration officials work out a way forward, based on unusual circumstances. You may end up with a temporary visa that's of an unusual type, potentially with embassies involved. Without specifics there is no detailed answer. It also is why it pays to think about where you are transiting if you have either an unusual transit location, less accepted passport or both. You don't want to get stuck in say TSE with extreme weather, connecting KC-KC with a passport from Lesotho for instance.
This doesn't apply here however. If AF had flown the OP to JNB, as the OP wanted and then all flights to HRE were cancelled, AF would have faced large fines and responsibility for flying them back to CDG.