South African Airways (SAA) may face insolvency within the next 12 months unless it successfully improves its liquidity situation.
This warning was issued by the Auditor-General of South Africa’s (AGSA) office on April 21, 2026, during a briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Transport regarding SAA’s current financial status.
Thato Kunene, senior audit manager at AGSA, described SAA as a going concern with significant material uncertainties.
SAA and its subsidiary SAA Technical received a disclaimer audit opinion from the AGSA for the 2024-2025 financial year.
This means that the government’s auditors could not verify whether SAA’s financial records were accurate.
This marked the seventh consecutive year that SAA received a disclaimed opinion from the AGSA, the worst audit opinion that can be issued.
However, the group’s catering company, Air Chefs, had reportedly improved its audit outcome.
“If you look at what has actually led to the key improvement in terms of chefs, it was the implementation of the action plan and also the appointment of strong leadership,” said the AGSA.
Although the company reported a profit in its latest financial results, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy informed the Portfolio Committee that this was primarily 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 reported an increase in irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure, exacerbated by a lack of consequence management, prompting warnings that individuals act as they please without facing disciplinary action.
At SAA Technical, there is an ongoing criminal investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) concerning the theft of expensive avionics components that are being sold outside the country.
The entity has secured several preservation orders and court convictions.
SAA’s outlook
In February, SAA released its latest financial results, reporting a net profit of R155 million and revenue nearing R9 billion.
However, aviation expert Guy Leitch questioned the accuracy of these results, suggesting that the airline was more likely to be operating at a loss because its operating costs exceeded its revenue.
Leitch also noted that over R1 billion in shares had been issued to the company’s sole shareholder, the South African government, which denied that this represented a state bailout.
In April 2026, SAA CEO John Lamola announced his resignation from the company, citing personal reasons for his departure at the end of the month.
This announcement coincided with the resignation of three SAA Board members. Cors Consulting director Khaya Sithole said that these resignations indicate significant structural issues within the airline.
“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 came after the unexpected retirement of acting CFO Lindsay Olitzki in late March, just two days before the end of the financial year.
While Lamola stated that Olitzki had reached SAA’s mandatory retirement age, Leitch pointed out that this indicates instability among the group’s executives.
Negotiations for SAA to enter a public-private partnership with the Takatso Consortium in 2021 collapsed after three years, leaving the state with 100% ownership of the airline.
