South African Airways Celebrates 90 Years of Flying High Despite Financial Turbulence

• The South African Airways (SAA) celebrated its 90th anniversary amidst uncertainties regarding its sale
• Minister Pravin Gordhan acknowledged the challenges faced by SAA, including financial mismanagement and corruption
• Despite challenges, SAA aims to become financially self-sufficient and no longer rely on government bailouts

JOHANNESBURG - South African Airways (SAA) marked a significant milestone. It celebrated 90 years in aviation.

Amid uncertainties surrounding its sale, the national carrier reflected on its journey through various challenges.

Navigating Through Turbulence

According to SABCNews, Public Enterprise Minister Pravin Gordhan highlighted the hurdles faced by SAA, including financial mismanagement and corruption. He said SAA managed to avoid total collapse by undergoing business rescue.

Charting a new course

Looking ahead, Gordhan stressed that SAA is committed to sustaining itself financially. The national carrier aims to generate its own revenue and reduce reliance on government bailouts.

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Citizens discuss SAA's anniversary

South Africans on social media believe there is nothing to celebrate. Many complained about the decline of SAA under the current administration and they voiced frustration over repeated taxpayer-funded bailouts.

Mzoxolo April said:

"ANC is the best. They can bring everything that was a pride of this country to its knees in just 30 years and less."

Lucky Malinga wrote:

"30 years of state capture, and deployment has destroyed public enterprises from SAA, Denel, Armscor, Transnet, SABC, PRASA, the list is endless."

Roy Phillips posted:

"Please no more hard-earned taxpayers' money, sunk into this failed entity."

Anele Sihange asked:

"It might be 90 years but what's there to celebrate, when the mighty bird of Africa has fallen?"

Sean Sam Muller added:

"Celebrate 90 years and how many bailouts with tax payer payments. ‍♂️"

Brenda Declerck commented:

"Nothing to celebrate. "

Kagiso Justice noted:

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"Sold to friends and family for almost NOTHING. No paperwork was shown to anyone even parliament."

SAA relaunch leaves netizens with questions

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the 'new' South African Airways was expected to launch, but South Africans were not excited about it.

The launch also coincided with SAA's launch of direct flights to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Netizens disapproved of the launch and called it a colossal waste of money.

Source: Briefly News