President Ramaphosa addressed the nation on the evening of the 28th December 2020 and announced that the country would be returning to an adjusted version of level 3 lockdown.
These announcements will have implications for domestic travel.
Our teams will work through the details of these implications as specifics become clear to us, and will advise customers accordingly using the email and mobile numbers obtained during the booking process. Customers can also keep an eye on our website and social media channels for more updates.
We appreciate that many customers will have questions relating to the impact of these changes and what they will mean for your travel arrangements. Our teams will address all questions as quickly as we can, and we thank customers for their patience.
Check our website regularly, where we will post updates as information becomes clear.
Please note that this page will be updated with new information as it becomes available and as plans are made.
Details regarding early morning flights on the 29th of December will be sent to affected passengers ASAP using mobile numbers taken at the time of making reservations.
IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR CUSTOMERS SCHEDULED TO LEAVE ON FLIGHTS DEPARTING EARLY ON 29 DECEMBER 2020
Unfortunately due to the fact that curfew changes have been implemented with immediate effect, we have been forced to change several flights on short notice.
All flights scheduled to have departed before 7 AM will now only depart after 7 AM. Your flight will take place but at a later time.
New times will be communicated this evening vis SMS and email.
No actions are required from you on your booking other than to take note of the new departure times.
Of course, we apologise to our customers for this inconvenience and for these last-minute changes. Naturally, we'd far rather avoid this, but these sudden changes in restrictions require sudden actions on our part. Of course, our customer care agents are always ready to assist you at our airport counters or through our contact centre (which will open at 7 AM) on 087 357 0030. We expect high volumes of calls from customers seeking urgent responses to their queries and so we do ask that customers attempt to use our self-service facilities before reaching out to us. Of course, customers who have flights that depart before the customer contact centre at 7 AM will not be penalised.
UPDATE 07:45AM - 29 December 2020
Several customers have been advised via SMS and email of changing flight times today as a result of the curfew changes announced last night. Most of this morning's early flights have been delayed with departures taking place just after 7 AM.
Customers who were still unable to leave in time to make it to the airport due to the curfew are advised to arrive at the airport as soon as they can and to proceed to the ticket sales counter where our teams will assist you with changes as required. Alternatively please contact our contact centre for help with your changes if you are unable to make them online.
At this stage, some more specific details around possible changes are still unclear. The Minister of Transport is due to address the nation during the ministerial briefings at 10 AM this morning with more information. As soon as this information is made public, we will confirm our plans and possible changes.
UPDATE 10:00 - 29 December 2020
We await details from the ministerial briefings today for more information on what to expect during this lockdown period. As we understand it, flights will only be permitted to take-off and land between 08:00 and 20:00.
Below are adjusted times for FlySafair departures on 29 December 2020.
schedule for depeartures on 29th has been removed to keep this information page shorter.
UPDATE 11:30 - 29 December 2020
We are working hard to make all required changes in order to still be able to operate flights while remaining compliant with new rules and curfews.
Our customers are all being kept up to date using email and SMS (using the details provided when bookings were made) and via regular updates to our social media channels.
Top priority last night was to help out the earlier departures this morning and make arrangements on flights for this evening. We await more detail out of the ministerial briefings this morning to inform ongoing plans. Changes will then be implemented as needed later today. All passengers whose flight times are being changed by ourselves (as a result of the curfews, etc.) are permitted either completely free changes or full voucher refunds (valid for 12 months).
We are also easing restrictions for customers who are voluntarily electing to no longer travel - all customers can make penalty-free changes (although fare differences will be charged where applicable) or they can bank their flights as a voucher, less the standard R300 change fee. This will apply while level 3 remains in place.
UPDATE 12:00 - 29 December 2020
Following ministerial briefings, FlySafair has learnt the following with regard to rules surrounding domestic air travel.
- Flights can only take-off and land place between 8 AM and 8 PM, but airports will open earlier and later than this to allow people to check-in, etc.
- Travel to hotspots is discouraged.
- Borders are open.
- Masks must be worn in all forms of public transport.
- No permits are required for inter-provincial travel as was previously the case in level 3.
- Customers who show boarding passes or passport stamps to officials relating to international travel will not be penalised when moving during curfew hours.
- Alcohol may not be transported unless it is for export or if manufactures are transporting it for storage or if it is used in industry.
UPDATE 13:30 - 29 December 2020
We have now made adjustments to our schedule for 30 Dec and 31 Dec. Customers affected are being alerted via SMS and email using the details we received when customers made their bookings. For full details on affected flights, please review this article.
UPDATE 16:30 - 29 December 2020
There are no further updates to share at this point - changes have been implemented for all flights departing in the next two days, and customers have been updated.
Departures from 1 January 2021 onwards will be processed tomorrow.
UPDATE 10:00 - 30 December 2020
Today we will focus on updating all customers with departures in January. Please standby for updates and possible changes to your schedules which will come through via SMS and email through the course of the day and into the evening.
- Customers whose flights have been cancelled by us have the option of a full voucher refund or a free change to any future flight.
- Customers whose flights have not been changed, but who wish to change their travel plans as a result of the circumstances are able to do so with eased restrictions—more information on that, and how to make those changes here.