Lesotho Bans Passenger Flights - Airlink Suspends Johannesburg-Maseru Service

Airlink, the privately-owned regional airline, regrets to announce the suspension of its daily service between Johannesburg and Maseru from tomorrow, following the Lesotho government’s ban passenger flights to and from Moshoeshoe I International Airport.

“We regret, but respect the decision to temporarily halt passenger flights to Maseru’s Moshoeshoe I International Airport, which is Lesotho’s primary air transport gateway and we apologise to our customers for the inconvenience and disruption to their business that this will cause,” said Airlink Managing Director and CEO, Rodger Foster.

This afternoon Lesotho’s authorities issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) prohibiting all international, regional and domestic flights to and from the kingdom from midnight tonight until 27 January 2021 as one of its measures to contain COVID-19 infections.

“The well-being of our customers, crew and staff is our priority. Although we are required to suspend our Maseru flight, we continue to operate all of our other flights to destinations throughout Southern Africa and within South Africa. By dilligently applying and adhering to stringent bio-security protocols, we have demonstrated that flying is the safest way to travel and that we can continue to support and enable business, tourism and trade without spreading the Coronavirus,” added Mr Foster.

“Airlink is looking forward to re-establishing the vital connections that sustain the all important trade, business, tourism and family ties between the Mountain Kingdom and its neighbour,” he said.

Daily flights affected by the suspension of services are:

• 4Z 052 Johannesburg – Maseru
• 4Z 053 Maseru - Johannesburg

Airlink’s flight schedule is available on our website: www.flyairlink.com/flightschedule. Customers should consult Airlink’s website https://www.flyairlink.com/ - manage, or contact our Reservations office on tel +27 11 451 7300 or their travel agencies for assistance with booking changes and refunds. 

About Airlink

Airlink is a privately-owned regional airline serving a comprehensive network of smaller destinations throughout Southern Africa. We operate independently under our own unique 4Z flight code, offering our customers more freedom, more choices and more travel opportunities.

Look out for the Airlink sunbird on our striking new livery. Like our colourful feathered mascot, we are Southern Africa’s busiest airline and also its largest (measured by the number of flights we operate) carrier. In 2019 our fleet of more than 50 modern commercial jetliners carried two million customers on more than 63 000 flights, on 55 routes to 39 destinations in nine African countries and St Helena Island.

Airlink is proudly the most punctual South African airline for 2020* with an on-time performance consistently better than 95%. This illustrates our determination and unwavering commitment to put our customers first by providing excellent and reliable service.