South African Airways (SAA) on Monday announced its decision to reinstate several flights on the African continent despite a strike that continues to grip the national carrier.
SAA service will resume to Accra, Lagos, Lusaka, Maputo, Windhoek and Harare beginning on Tuesday.
This is in addition to all SAA international flights, which include flights to New York, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, Perth, London, Frankfurt and Washington.
However, all domestic flights remain suspended.
The airline thanked those staff who decided to work despite receiving threats and intimidation from the unions, the statement said.
“We are pleased that SAA is now able to increase services and to offer our customers more flights on the African continent and that all our international flights are back on schedule,” SAA Chief Commercial Officer Philip Saunders said.
The SAA is continuing discussions with labor and remains committed to reaching a prompt resolution in the best interests of all parties, he said.
SAA employees went on strike on Friday after the airline rejected their demand for an 8 percent wage increase and planned to go ahead with its retrenchment of 944 jobs — almost a fifth of its employees, as part of its turnaround strategy.
