Nordic Nations to End Flights to South Africa
Sweden, Norway and Denmark agreed today to terminate all Scandinavian Airlines System flights to Johannesburg to protest South Africa’s apartheid policies.
The three governments agreed at separate meetings in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen to cancel their 27-year aviation contract with the South African government.
Under the contract, SAS had maintained a weekly flight from Copenhagen to Johannesburg via Nairobi, Kenya. The weekly flight carries 142 seats, a marginal share of traffic between South Africa and Europe, which totals 20,000 seats a week.
Six Months Notice
Because of a six-month termination notice, the cancellation of the aviation contract between South Africa and Scandinavia will not take effect until the end of this year.
The move stemmed from a June 19 resolution of the U.N. Security Council which urged all member nations to reconsider aviation contracts with South Africa, where the white minority government has excluded the nation’s 22-million black majority from power.
In February, Sweden toughened its ban on new investments by Swedish companies in South Africa and Namibia, which Pretoria administers against U.N. resolutions. The law is considered a model for other countries by supporters of divestment.
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