Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has expressed concern over the financial position of South African Airways (SAA), saying government is not satisfied with the airline’s ongoing audit challenges and financial instability.
She was briefing Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport during a session where the Auditor-General also presented audit outcomes for SAA’s 2024/25 financial year.
Creecy said it was unacceptable for any state-owned entity under her oversight to remain in repeated audit disclaimers, noting that SAA has been struggling to fully recover from years of financial disruption, including its time in business rescue between 2019 and 2022.
She said that period resulted in several years without proper audits, forcing the airline into a continuous process of trying to catch up on financial recovery plans.
While SAA has reported a moderate profit for the 2024/25 financial year, Creecy cautioned that the airline is still far from being financially stable.
She said the improvement was driven in part by the sale of Heathrow landing slots, as well as higher passenger numbers and increased revenue, but stressed that the entity is still not a fully profitable operation.
–ChannelAfrica–
