South African Airways (SAA) has advised customers that the airline has cancelled Monday's flights between Johannesburg and Mauritius due to unfavourable weather conditions associated with tropical cyclone Calvinia in the vicinity of Mauritius.
Mauritius closed its main airport on Monday and shops and other businesses in the capital also closed as the tropical cyclone Calvinia approached.
The Indian Ocean island's meteorological service said Calvinia had remained almost stationary for some time at about 120 kilometres east of Mahebourg, a small village in southeastern Mauritius.
"A movement towards the west will bring the centre closer to Mauritius," the weather service said in a statement.
Gusts of up to 120km an hour were expected to hit Mauritius by early afternoon on Monday and the airport, Port Louis Harbour, was ordered closed from noon local time.
The meteorological service declared a class III alert - indicating a storm with winds between 111 and 129 miles per hour - for the cyclone and Air Mauritius, the national carrier, postponed all arrivals and departures until further notice, it said in a statement.
The cancelled flights are:
- SA190/MK950 on 30 December 2019 from Johannesburg to Mauritius
- SA191/MK949 of 30 December 2019 from Mauritius to Johannesburg
SAA intends to reinstate flights on Tuesday, December 31, and will operate as follows:
Johannesburg to Mauritius:
- SA190, 31 December from Johannesburg to Mauritius to operate as per normal schedule and will depart 09H45 (Johannesburg)
- SA3192, an additional flight added from Johannesburg to Mauritius which will depart at 08H40 (Johannesburg)
Mauritius to Johannesburg:
- SA191, 31 December from Mauritius to Johannesburg to operate as per normal schedule and will depart 16H40 (Mauritius)
- SA3193, an additional flight added from Mauritius to Johannesburg which will depart at 15H35 (Mauritius)