The airline’s only domestic route, which will continue to run on a reduced basis, is from Johannesburg to Cape Town, with all other destinations such as Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth to cease from 29 February.

Routes between Johannesburg and Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo will also close.

However, SAA will continue to operate between Johannesburg and Frankfurt, Heathrow, New York, Perth and Washington via Accra. 

This comes as SAA reportedly received $240 million in rescue funding from the Development Bank of Southern Africa. 

Domestic routes operated by Mango, SAA’s partner, will not be affected by the changes, but there will be job losses in the restructuring.

Passengers booked on a cancelled flight will receive a full refund or be “reaccommodated”.

SAA reassured agents it does not intend to make any more significant network changes, asking to industry to “feel confident about booking”.

The airline is also considering selling selected assets and exploring “viable investment opportunities”.

“It is our intention to restructure the business in a manner that we can retain as many jobs as possible,” said Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, SAA’s joint business rescue practitioners. 

“This will help provide a platform to a viable and sustainable future. However, a reduction in the number of employees will unfortunately be necessary.”