Unreasonable refund terms

I hereby express my great disappointment with what I once believed was SA's premier regional airline. Up until 23 September 2025, I had had nothing but praise for this business - one which I now cannot recommend.

On this date, I purchased a return ticket for my mother from ELS to JNB. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I cancelled this ticket and requested a refund via Email within 24 hours of purchase. Nearly 6 weeks later, on November 5th, did I finally receive a response - a very disappointing response. I was told that this ticket (which cost R2916.14) was non-refundable and that they would only be able to refund me the third party taxes of R344.14.

I am a frequent flyer who uses various airlines for my travels. Most flights happen seamlessly, but there have been rare instances where I've had to cancel flights and never have I ever received such an unfair response from any other airline. It should be straightforward that if a passenger cancels their ticket on reasonable grounds - within 24 hours of purchase and provided that no portion of it had been used - they are to be duly refunded the purchase price minus any applicable taxes. This was definitely not the case with Airlink.

I unfortunately cannot recommend this company.