South African Airways (SAA) has announced that it will suspend its three weekly non-stop service between Johannesburg and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria.

The suspension which will take effect from 6 March 2017, is due to the upgrade work on the runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

Announcing this, SAA Spokesperson, Tlali Tlali said “South African Airways regrets any inconvenience to our customers, but we would like to give the assurance that all affected customers will be accommodated on our flights to and from Lagos.”

According to the airline, customers who already hold tickets and those planning to travel to Nigeria over this time will be re-accommodated on Johannesburg-Lagos and Lagos-Johannesburg flights.

Nigerian government had in January announced that it would close Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on 8 March for a period of six weeks for scheduled repairs on the runway.

The Federal government of Nigeria also provided the Kaduna Airport as an alternative while the repairs at the Abuja airport are effected. But not every international airline bought the idea.