South African Airways (SAA) is at risk of being declared insolvent within the next 12 months if it can’t turn its current liquidity situation around.
This is according to the Auditor-General of South Africa’s (AGSA) office, which briefed the Portfolio Committee on Transport on the current financial state of SAA on 21 April 2026.
Thato Kunene, AGSA senior audit manager, described SAA as a going concern with substantial “material uncertainties”, and there are certain conditions under which the entity would be forced to close.
“The challenges we picked up were their operating losses, their negative operating cash flows, and indicators of liquidity challenges,” said Kunene.
The AGSA also released a disclaimed audit opinion on SAA’s 2024/25 financial results, which means that the results were unreliable and not based on credible figures.
The disclaimed audit opinion is the worst audit opinion that can be issued.
Notably, this is the seventh consecutive year that SAA has received a disclaimed opinion from the AGSA.
Along with this, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy explained to the committee that SAA declared profitability with its latest financial results based on 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.
Another concern raised by the AGSA is SAA’s irregular expenditure, and it noted that the entity lacked adequate accountability measures to address it.
Along with this, it indicated that repatriating revenue from ticket sales in other African countries had proven a challenge for SAA.
This mainly refers to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Egypt and Nigeria, with approximately R416 million in blocked cash reported in the countries.
An additional R1 billion is also 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.
SAA’s future
Along with the Auditor-General’s findings, SAA is going through an especially troubled time, with its future now in question.
SAA’s latest financial results declared a net profit of R155 million and revenue of almost R9 billion; however, there are concerns over the accuracy of these figures.
Aviation expert Guy Leitch has expressed doubts about the results, finding that the airline was more likely to be operating at a loss because its operational costs exceeded its revenue.
Leitch also noted that over R1 billion has been issued to the company’s sole shareholder – the South African government.
The government has strongly denied that this is a sign of a state bailout.
Along with these issues, SAA CEO John Lamola announced his resignation from the company on 10 April, though he did cite personal reasons for his departure at the end of the month.
However, this announcement comes alongside the resignation of three SAA Board members, which, according to Cors Consulting director Khaya Sithole, is indicative of severe structural problems.
“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 announcement also followed the retirement of acting CFO Lindsay Olitzki in late March, just two days before the end of the financial year.
At the time, Lamola indicated that this was due to Olitzki reaching SAA’s mandatory retirement age; however, Leitch said that it indicated instability among 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.”
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