Nearly 10,000 passengers were affected after FlySafair cancelled a number of flights because of new curfew times, and some customers were frustrated by the airline’s communications about the cancellations. 

Almost 10,000 passengers have been affected by FlySafair’s flight cancellations, according to FlySafair spokesperson Kirby Gordon. (Photo: Victoria O’Regan)

“Flight cancellations started on Tuesday morning right after the president’s address, given that the new restrictions were put in place with immediate effect. Obviously, the nearest departures were prioritised and the cancellation process ran until about midnight on Tuesday evening,” FlySafair spokesperson Kirby Gordon told Daily Maverick.

This came after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the national curfew would be extended from 11pm to 4am amid rising Covid-19 infections. Before that, the curfew had been from midnight to 4am. 

“The curfew has had a marked impact on our operations,” Gordon said. 

“It’s essential that we are able to complete operations in time to allow both customers and staff time to get home before curfew ends, which has unfortunately resulted in us having to cancel a large number of flights and inconvenience a number of customers.

“The shorter flying day limits our opportunity to generate revenue, which will have an impact on our ability to earn during this crucial period for us.”

Although the airline respects the measures that the state has needed to put in place to curb the second wave, Gordon said this has had an unfortunate impact on the business, lessening FlySafair’s ability to earn, and inconveniencing customers. 

“We base aircraft in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg,” he said. “Aircraft have to sleep here in order to get the tech checks that they need as well as to be present to start the next day’s flying. Because every flight is a there-and-back we’ve had to cancel pairs of flights.

“A flight might land in Port Elizabeth at 19h00, which would be well before curfew, but the return flight would not make it, so sadly we lose out on the pair of flights.” 

Customers affected by the cancellations can claim for a full refund for cancelled flights, choose to get a free flight change or get a voucher at the same value of the cancelled booking to use within 12 months. Most customers had opted to rebook flights which are slightly earlier in the day, said Gordon. 

Poor communication lines 

But a number of passengers were disappointed by the airline’s communication of the cancellations. 

One FlySafair passenger, Melissa Harribi, only found out that her flight had been cancelled when she was at the airport.

“When I got to the check-in counter [at Cape Town International Airport], I was informed that the flight was cancelled and thereafter I was sent to the ticket office and I was told that they would explain to me why the flight is cancelled… I was told that the flight [to Port Elizabeth] was cancelled due to the curfew and that it would be too late for the flight to return to Cape Town,” she said.

 “I don’t know the check-in procedure. I’ve never flown before or gotten this far into an airport actually. It is just so overwhelming. I was actually just about to break down and cry.” 

Another passenger, Siyabulela Sitmela, also only found out a few hours before her flight was to depart that it had been cancelled. 

“My flight was supposed to be at 16:45. I was devastated because I am going to my brother’s funeral. I am just disappointed because I expected to get there today… now I need to make alternative arrangements to ask someone to come and fetch me.” 

Gordon said that, “It’s always extremely difficult to manage large transactions like this one.”  

The airline had tried to rescue the situation on Wednesday, he added. 

“We’ve doubled up today to try and rescue the situation as best we can. All customers were SMSed again with a message containing a link that clicked through to a page where we had more space to explain the situation and make our customers more aware of their options.” 

Social media grievances 

Some passengers took to social media to complain about the poor communication of the airline.  

“Guys please respond to your inboxes. I just need a confirmation my flight has been changed,” reads one Twitter thread. 

“#Flysafair please do the right thing to us, we are valid customers. As I’m reading the comments we all went through the same of cancelations [sic] without proper explanation and nobody is giving us explanation or way forward. Assist us,” pleaded one customer on Facebook.  

Some customers were charged for rebooking although the airline had assured it would be free, and many were stuck on the airline’s call line for an hour without any assistance after cancellations, according to social media platforms.

Queries from customers abated after the airline sent out more informative communication, said Gordon.

“The first communications issued were far from perfect and we apologise to all customers for inciting any concern.” DM 

Daily Maverick asked the Airports Company South Africa for comment, but it had not responded by the time of publication.