South African Airways resumes flights after bankruptcy

SAA survived for decades on government bailouts and was shedding routes even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

South Africa’s embattled national airline has flown its first plane since March 2020 after emerging from bankruptcy proceedings.

Passengers on the South African Airways (SAA) flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town on Thursday were greeted on their departure by singing and dancing airline staff.

Once Africa’s second largest airline after Ethiopian Airlines, SAA had survived for decades on government bailouts and was shedding routes even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.