This is after SAA said they cannot accommodate them on a repatriation flight (which the passengers paid R17K for, each).

Over the weekend, a repatriation flight was scheduled to depart from Frankfurt to South Africa. Some 200 passengers booked tickets on this SAA flight to bring them home. After several delays on the day of the scheduled departure, SAA took 45 people off the flight, citing technical difficulties with the aircraft’s door making it impossible to transport all 200 passengers in one flight. Each of the South Africans paid roughly R17 000 for their one-way tickets home on this repatriation flight. The 45 stranded passengers are still at Frankfurt International Airport, waiting for the government and SAA to announce how it will go about getting them home. These passengers have already waited months to book available seats on a repatriation flight and have come from all over Europe to make the long journey home.