Air Madagascar halts Johannesburg service
Effective January 08, Air Madagascar will halt flights from Antananarivo to Johannesburg, South Africa, which was launched in June this year.
December 09, 2019: Effective January 08, Air Madagascar will halt flights from Antananarivo to Johannesburg, South Africa, which was launched in June this year. The twice-weekly flights were operated using a B737-800NG and faced stiff competition from South African Airways, which serves the route daily using an E190.
The airline is once again suffering setbacks following an initial period of high hopes when Reunion-based airline Air Austral acquired 49 percent in Air Madagascar. However, lack of cash injections and other operational challenges seems to have Air Austral take a step back from the partnership, following which the Madagascar government was unsuccessful in finding international partners to inject capital. As per the agreement, the French airline must have injected $40 million into Air Madagascar, which did not happen so - leading to operational disability.
In November, the Madagascar government has injected an undisclosed sum of money into the national airline, allowing the airline to continue operations.