FLYSAFAIR REFUSE REFUND

I paid FlySafair R6,181.69 on 29 July 2026 for two seats from Johannesburg to Cape Town, booking N1KQE0. Four hours and twenty-six minutes later, the same afternoon, I cancelled — eleven days before the flight.

FlySafair kept R600.00 and issued the balance of R5,581.69 as a voucher.

I want to be clear about one thing up front: I accept the R600.00 charge in full. I have never asked for it back and I am not asking now. My complaint is only about the R5,581.69.

By deducting its fee and returning the balance, FlySafair decided for itself that the R5,581.69 is not its money. It is mine. The only question left is whether I receive it in money, or in FlySafair credit I did not ask for, cannot use, and which expires.

I was never offered a choice. The voucher was generated automatically the moment I cancelled.

When I asked for a cash refund I was told, on 31 July, that "once a voucher is issued, it cannot be converted to cash refund." The next day I was given an entirely different reason — that cash refunds apply only to cancellations made 45 days or more before departure. Two different answers on consecutive days. Neither reason is in the section of FlySafair's terms that deals with cancellations. The rule they now rely on to keep my money in a voucher sits in a separate section about promotional coupons, in a document I was never shown before I paid. The Consumer Protection Act says a voucher may not expire for three years and that the money behind an unredeemed voucher remains the property of the customer. FlySafair's voucher expires in twelve months, after which it says my money is forfeited.

On 12 August I sent FlySafair a formal demand under the Consumer Protection Act, asking for a written answer to four specific questions. FlySafair did not reply. Not a refusal — no response at all.

I am asking for one thing: pay the R5,581.69 back to the card I paid with. Keep the R600.

Booking N1KQE0. Support request ***.