Kulula, a South African discount carrier owned by British Airways affiliate Comair, announced Thursday that it will stop flying to the Mozambican capital Maputo on January 17.

"The route from Lanseria (Johannesburg's second airport) to Maputo, which became effective in May 2011, has proved to be commercially unviable for the airline," Comair spokeswoman Heidi Brauer said in a statement.

The companies said affected ticket-holders would either be reimbursed or booked on other airlines.

Kulula launched flights to Maputo last year in a bid to compete with South African Airways and Mozambican national airline LAM, the carriers that have long dominated the market.

South African budget airline 1Time also quit flying from Johannesburg to Maputo in 2011, just a year after launching flights on the route.