SAA planes to return to the runway on Saturday – and a 'full schedule' from Sunday

SAA announced on Friday that it will be restoring a full flight schedule in stages over the course of the weekend.

This comes after a wage agreement was signed by the airline, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA and the SA Cabin Crew Association.

“In practical terms, this means that SAA will operate a near-normal service on Saturday 23 November 2019. While there will be selected cancellations, principally on the domestic network and on a small number of regional flights, the airline expects to be able to provide service to all customers,” the company said in a statement.

“Any customers requiring re-accommodation on a rescheduled service or on another airline will be contacted accordingly or assisted at their departure airport,” the airline said.

It expected things to run smoothly from Sunday, with minimal disruptions.

“On Sunday, SAA expects to operate its full schedule as usual. This means that SAA will operate services as usual on all three of its networks: domestic, regional (points on the African continent) and international,” the airline said.

The company’s chief commercial officer, Philip Saunders, thanked customers for their continued support during the seven-day strike.

“On behalf of SAA, I would like to express our deep regret at the inconvenience caused to our loyal customers during this industrial dispute. We will continue to assist those passengers who have still not been able to travel, to reach their intended destination as soon as possible,” he said.

“At the same time, I would like to express our commitment to return to the skies with renewed passion and energy to serve all our customers. We also thank our airline partners, Mango, Airlink and SA Express, for assisting us during this difficult period.”