The affected airlines of the Lufthansa Group (Lufthansa, SWISS, Edelweiss and Austrian Airlines) said the company will comply with the requirements of the authorities following the restriction of air travel due to new Covid-19 variant.
The airline said corresponding temporary flight bans are in place for passenger flights from South Africa to Germany and Switzerland, which differs in detail depending on the destination country and lead to temporary flight cancellations and extended entry requirements.
Affected passengers whose flights have been cancelled can rebook on alternative flights without a rebooking fee or get a refund.
Flexible and free rebooking options continue to apply for all bookings with Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SWISS.
The airline announced that Lufthansa will continue its flight programme to South Africa unchanged and as scheduled. The airline does warn of possible short-term cancellations.
The airline said that according to the order of the German authorities, no passenger flights from South Africa to Germany can be offered from December 22 to December 30, 2020. The return flights to Germany will be operated without passengers.
However, flights to South Africa will take place during this period. The following routes will continue to operate: Frankfurt to Johannesburg and Cape Town and from Munich to Cape Town.
"For departures in South Africa from December 31, 2020, to January 6, 2021, Lufthansa may again carry passengers from South Africa to Germany, according to the current regulation. During this period, only passengers with German citizenship or foreign citizens with a permanent residence in Germany may use these flights. Lufthansa will rebook all other passengers on later flights.
"Upon arrival in Frankfurt and Munich, extended entry conditions apply for this period, which will be implemented by the Federal Police. In this context, passengers must present a valid PCR-SARS-CoV-2 at the airport in Munich for entry into Germany, which must not be older than 48 hours. This test can also be taken after arrival in the transit area before entry. However, we recommend to get tested before departure. Passengers must also observe the applicable quarantine regulations after entry at Frankfurt and Munich airport.
"The entry requirements for passengers travelling to South Africa remain unchanged. Passengers are requested to inform themselves about the valid current regulations prior to departure. Different regulations apply to crewmembers," the airline said in a statement.
SWISS and Edelweiss have suspended all their passenger connections from Zurich to South Africa due to a decision by the Swiss federal authorities on December 20, 2020.
Austrian Airlines operates twice weekly from Vienna to Cape Town without restrictions.