SAA will not commit to Johannesburg-Mumbai as Ramaphosa presses for direct India flights

South African Airways will not commit to flying Johannesburg to Mumbai again, despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s public call for direct flights between South Africa and India to be restored.

The national carrier gave that answer to The Citizen this week. SAA spokesperson Mphilo Dlamini said the airline welcomed the president’s push for closer economic, tourism and people-to-people ties with India, but no route announcement is coming.

“Whilst SAA is not currently able to announce the resumption of direct services between South Africa and India, including its former Johannesburg-Mumbai route, the airline regularly assesses market opportunities as part of its network planning and growth strategy,” Dlamini said.

That is a cooler position than the airline’s own planning suggested a year ago, and the gap between the two is the story for anyone who books a seat between the two countries.

The route was cut in 2015, and the reasons have not gone away

SAA stopped flying directly to Mumbai and Beijing in 2015, part of a 90-day plan to steady its finances after an intervention in late 2014 as the airline dealt with losses and liquidity problems. Government described the Mumbai route as loss-making at the time.

The airline opened a route to Abu Dhabi instead, which government said would keep connections to India, China and other Asian destinations alive. That route was cut less than a year after it started.

Mumbai came closer to returning last year than this week’s answer suggests. In May 2025 SAA said it had revised plans to relaunch India flights because it could not secure suitable aircraft. Mumbai had been targeted for an October 2025 launch, then pushed into 2026.

SAA chief commercial officer Tebogo Tsimane said at the time that Mumbai was one of several Asian routes under consideration, with the economics of each service and aircraft availability deciding what could actually be flown. By December 2025 he said delays in getting additional widebody aircraft had put the airline’s international expansion behind schedule.

Dlamini now lists the same obstacles. A return would need enough operational capacity, suitable aircraft and the capital to support it.

Why the route matters to travellers and to trade

Johannesburg to Mumbai has been identified as one of Africa’s largest unserved routes. For passengers, that means connecting through another airline’s hub, usually in the Gulf or in East Africa, and paying for the privilege.

The competition is not theoretical. Aviation consultant Sean Mendis told Travel News that India is a huge market but also a low-fare one, and that SAA’s cost base and fleet would make it hard to match the fares airlines already carry passengers on through their hubs. Ethiopian Airlines alone was carrying about 20 000 passengers a year in that market, according to Mendis.

Dlamini argues the market has moved since SAA last flew the route.

“The aviation market has evolved significantly over time, and India today represents one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets and an increasingly important economic partner for South Africa,” he said.

He pointed to growing trade, tourism and strong business and diaspora links as the opportunity behind a nonstop connection. Any decision, he said, would rest on a full assessment of market conditions and commercial sustainability, with the focus on routes that fit SAA’s long-term growth plan.

“At present, however, the airline remains focused on rebuilding a stronger and more sustainable business, consolidating the performance of its existing network, as it continues to explore growth opportunities at the same time,” he said.

What it means for the airline’s rebuild

SAA’s caution is not only a Mumbai question. It is a statement about where the airline is in its recovery, and how much room it has to open a long-haul route that government itself once called loss-making.

That leaves the route resting on two things that are not in the airline’s hands alone: widebody aircraft and capital. Until both are settled, the president’s call and the airline’s network plan are two different documents.

The practical effect for now is that South Africans travelling to India keep routing through other hubs, and the trade and tourism traffic the president wants to grow keeps passing through somebody else’s airport.

The Enquirer has asked SAA whether a widebody delivery schedule or a capital injection could put India back on the route map, and when the next network announcement is due.

Source: The Citizen, SAA cools hopes of return to India despite Ramaphosa push