The sudden resignation of South African Airways (SAA) CEO John Lamola, and ongoing reports about theft and corruption, have cast doubts over the airline’s long-term sustainability.
SAA has been around for almost 100 years. It was founded in 1934 when the South African government took over the assets of Union Airways.
The air carrier went on to become a major player in the international market for many years. However, it ran into severe financial issues in the 2000s.
SAA had not turned a profit since 2011 and was technically insolvent. The company went into voluntary business rescue in December 2019, and resumed operations in September 2021.
Since its relaunch, SAA has grown its fleet from five to 19 aircraft, and expanded its coverage from six to 17 destinations.
More recently, the airline reported a R155 million profit for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Even though SAA seems like it was well on the road to recovery, CEO John Lamola suddenly announced his resignation, effective 30 April 2026, with little to no explanation.
The announcement has shone a spotlight on SAA;s operations, raising questions about its leadership stability, strategy, and long-term sustainibility.
In a recent interview with HOT102.7FM, transport economist Joachim Vermooten claimed the development signals deeper uncertainty within the carrier.
He said the news suggests instability within the company. While few details have been made public, Vermooten noted that the resignation “reflects some serious disagreement on policy or direction or funding.”
He added that this uncertainty also raised questions about SAA’s reported financial performance.
Vermooten questioned “whether past reported profits are just effectively a function of past taxpayer support and maybe some interesting accounting treatment.”
He acknowledged that SAA appears to be compliant with international reporting standards, but stressed that “if you look at the normality of earnings and the ability to carry that forward, that is certainly under question.”
“Whilst it may not be a difficulty concerning reporting standards, if you look at the sustainability of the profits, it certainly is a problem.”
Operational challenges at SAA
Vermooten also spoke about operational challenges the state-owned air carrier faces, pointing at load factors as a critical metric.
He explained that a 68% load factor was seen as normal in the past, but that international airlines now need around 82% capacity to break even.
In other words, aircraft need to be at almost full capacity to turn a profit these days. This includes SAA.
That being said, Vermooten was more optimistic about SAA’s regional and domestic prospects. He said that these routes have great potential, but that this depends on deploying correctly sized aircraft.
He noted that rival operators such as FlySafair and Airlink tend to use smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft on similar routes, aligning operational costs with demand.
However, one of the most serious aspects of SAA’s operations that needs to be addressed concerns governance and financial mismanagement at the entity.
Vermooten said the airline “has not been able to stabilise its financial and accounting records,” a basic requirement for any large organisation.
Adding to this is the fact that SAA recently confirmed there is an organised group of criminals stealing valuable aircraft components.
In March 2026, Lucas Sekae, a former avionics technician for the company was convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison for stealing high-value aircraft parts for a criminal syndicate.
Sekae was found guilty on three counts of theft, following an investigation by SAA Group Security, Forensics and the South African Police Service (SAPS) between 2019 and 2021.
“Mr Sekae was linked to a broader criminal syndicate involving SAAT employees and associated private companies,” said the airline.
The company added that several other persons have already been arrested and found guilty, and are awaiting sentencing for corruption and criminal activities while employed by SAA.
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