SAA can shut down within a year

South African Airways (SAA) could be declared insolvent within the next 12 months, unless it can completely turn around its current liquidity position.

This was the warning given by the Auditor-General of South Africa’s (AGSA) office on 21 April 2026, as it briefed the Portfolio Committee on Transport on the current financial state of SAA.

AGSA senior audit manager Thato Kunene described SAA as a going concern with significant “material uncertainties.”

“This means there are certain conditions or doubts that, if they were to happen, mean the entity could close within 12 months,” Kunene said. “It could be made insolvent, or illiquid.”

“The challenges we picked up were their operating losses, their negative operating cash flows, and indicators of liquidity challenges.”

The AGSA issued a disclaimed audit opinion on SAA’s 2024/25 financial results, meaning the results were unreliable and not based on credible figures.

This marked the seventh consecutive year that SAA received a disclaimed opinion from the AGSA, which is the worst audit opinion that can be issued.

While the company declared profitability in its latest financial results, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy explained to the Portfolio Committee that this was mainly due to the sale of slots at Heathrow Airport.

“While there was some improvement in passenger numbers and passenger revenue, I think we are still a long way from being a profitable entity,” Creecy said.

The AGSA flagged irregular expenditure at SAA as a major concern, and said the company did not have adequate accountability measures in place to address this.

They also pointed out the difficulty SAA faced with repatriating revenue from ticket sales in other African countries, namely Zimbabwe, Malawi, Egypt and Nigeria.

Approximately R416 million in blocked cash was reported in these countries, on top of an additional R1 billion owed to SAA by Zimbabwe.

“Necessary interventions must be taken to ensure that those particular funds are recovered from their respective countries as that will boost the liquidity of the entity,” Kunene said.

Future of SAA remains uncertain

The Auditor-General’s findings come during a particularly tumultuous period for SAA with prominent uncertainty surrounding the airline’s future.

When SAA released its latest financial results on 6 February, it declared a net profit of R155 million and a revenue of almost R9 billion.

Aviation expert Guy Leitch questioned the veracity of these results, finding the airline was more likely operating at a loss due to their operating costs exceeding their revenue.

Leitch also pointed out that over R1 billion in shares had been issued to the company’s sole shareholder, the South African government, who denied this as a sign of a state bailout.

SAA CEO John Lamola announced his resignation from the company on 10 April, citing personal reasons for his departure at the end of the month.

The announcement coincided with the resignation of 3 SAA Board members, a move which Cors Consulting director Khaya Sithole said is indicative of major structural issues.

“When conversations centre around a picture this bleak, you imagine there must be casualties,” Sithole said. “Although they’re not going to confirm it on record.”

“It’s quite clear that it was on the back of seeing how dire the situation was that some board members thought it was no longer tenable for them to be part of this institution.”

Lamola’s resignation followed the sudden retirement of acting CFO Lindsay Olitzki in late March, just two days before the end of the financial year.

While Lamola claimed Olitzki had reached SAA’s mandatory retirement age, Leitch said that it points to instability amongst the group’s executives.

“Another casualty has been the head of HR, who has also gone,” Leitch explained. “There has been massive blood-letting there.”

Sithole believes that the role of the flag carrier is becoming irrelevant in today’s world, and said that more privatisation may benefit South Africa’s aviation industry.

Plans for SAA to enter a public-private partnership with the Takatso Consortium in 2021 fell through after three years of failed negotiations, with the state retaining 100% ownership of the airline.