Johannesburg - SA Airways will provide flights for mourners wishing to attend former president Nelson Mandela's funeral in Qunu, in the Eastern Cape, the airline said on Friday.
"After consultation with the South African government, SAA has put a special air transport service in place in order to facilitate the movement of mourners to the Eastern Cape... [for] the funeral of former president Mandela," spokesperson Tlali Tlali said in a statement.
He said the service would be available to those invited to the funeral and would also cover their return journeys.
Just before midnight on Thursday, President Jacob Zuma announced that South Africa's first democratically elected president had died at his home in Houghton.
On Friday afternoon, Zuma said the peace icon would be laid to rest at Qunu on December 15.
The official memorial service would be held on Tuesday at FNB stadium in Johannesburg," Zuma told reporters in Johannesburg.
Tlali said that the ferrying of mourners would neither replace nor disrupt its normal flights to the Eastern Cape.
"Passengers travelling on normal schedules between Johannesburg and the two Eastern Cape destinations SAA operates to, will continue to be offered the same services."
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