Comair has announced that it will extend the suspension of scheduled kulula.com and BA Comair flights until August 31, following President Ramaphosa’s announcement on Sunday, July 11, of the extension of the adjusted level 4 lockdown for at least two weeks.
Comair had already suspended all its scheduled flights from Monday, July 5, intending to operate from July 30 but, given the uncertainty over just how long South Africa will be on adjusted level 4 lockdown, coupled with the restriction on travel in and out of Gauteng, and with the rampant transmissibility of the Delta variant, the carrier decided to further suspend flight operations until August 31.
A release from the airline said, without government engagement with the aviation sector and in the absence of support for aviation and its associated services, the ability to plan constructively for a meaningful service beyond July 30, 2021 was exceptionally challenging.
Comair ceo, Glenn Orsmond, apologised to customers: “This decision was not made lightly, as it has a significant impact on both our customers and our employees. However, under the circumstances, we believe it is the correct course of action to ensure the health and wellbeing of our customers and employees. We empathise with Government’s unenviable position with regard to balancing the health of the nation and the suffering economy.”
Glenn also took the opportunity to add his voice to the growing body of opinion that widespread, mass vaccination was the only way to revive tourism and travel in South Africa. He said Comair welcomed the announcement that the registration of 35- to 49-year-olds for vaccination would begin on July 15. “This is a crucial step towards ensuring the safety of our customers and our employees, as well as stimulating demand and the recovery of our economy and tourism industry. We anticipate the vaccine roll-out picking up pace in earnest and hope to see it reaching critical mass in the next month or two and look forward to welcoming our customers back on board on September 1,” said Glenn.
