South African Airways (SAA) is today announcing the suspension of all services between Johannesburg and Hong Kong from Saturday, 23 November until and including, 14 December 2019.

This decision has been taken to curb significant financial losses incurred on the route, exacerbated recently by the ongoing political tensions in Hong Kong,

“The decision to suspend services to Hong Kong is regrettable, but necessitated by the current downturn in business due to the developing challenges in the region. By suspending these flights, we can concentrate on resuming more regional services at the earliest opportunity and make better use of all our resources,” said Philip Saunders, SAA’s Chief Commercial Officer.

SAA will be implementing a re-accommodation policy for customers booked on services to and from Hong Kong, and will be in contact with customers at the earliest opportunity. At present, the airline operates four services every week between Johannesburg and Hong Kong.

In recent months, several airlines have announced reductions in services and capacity to Hong Kong. These include the home-based carrier Cathay Pacific, as well as Air China, Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, United Airlines and others. The impact of these reduced operations is further reinforced by a year-on-year decline of 13% in passenger volumes recorded at Hong Kong International Airport in October 2019.

A further announcement relating to the resumption of further selected regional services will be made in a separate press release to be issued today.