SAA has worked with the Canadian government to facilitate the repatriation of 313 Canadian tourists who had been stranded in South Africa.

The citizens and permanent residents travelled on a repatriation flight that departed on Friday, April 10. The passengers, from Johannesburg and Cape Town, were flown to London for onward connections to Canada. 

“We were very happy to work with SAA and the government of South Africa to organise this special flight that allowed many Canadians to make their way home,” said Acting High Commissioner of Canada to South Africa, Kim Butler.

A statement from SAA said the airline had already repatriated thousands of German, Brazilian and Belgian nationals to their respective home countries over the past two weeks.

“We were pleased to assist and will continue to work with foreign governments through their respective Embassies and High Commissions in the repatriation of their nationals to re-join their families to share comfort, support and strength during these trying times,” said SAA Acting General Manager Operations, Tebogo Tsimane.