South African Airways has highlighted that a recent proclamation by the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa outlines that a corruption probe will not be launched for the wider airline, but a Special Investigative Unit (SIU) is to formally probe the airline’s South African Airways Technical (SAAT) – the airline’s maintenance arm.
Proclamation No 303, which was gazetted by the South African Government on December 19, 2025, and analyzed by ch-aviation, amends the SIU investigation that was first authorized in 2020, which had previously seen SAAT excluded from such an inquiry. In March 2025, SAA faced an investigation due to concerns around maladministration, corruption, and other unlawful conduct being undertaken.
A Probe Into SAAT
The latest move will see SAAT reviewed through investigative and other civil litigation work, to understand existing operations and matters. The scope of the investigation will provide the ability for the assessment of procurement, operational and other governance matters that sit within the SAA Group.
The change in the original proclamation was found to see that SAAT matters sat outside the original scope, the investigation will now understand unlawful conduct, irregular or improper activity that relates to the interest of SAA, SAAT, or other related third parties. The airline shared the following statement on the matter:
“This includes the authority to investigate any irregular, improper, or unlawful conduct, as well as any undisclosed or unauthorised interests involving SAA or SAAT personnel or third parties, within the period covered by the investigation. The scope further includes any irregular, improper, or unlawful conduct by SAA or SAAT personnel or by third parties in relation to selected procurement, operational, and governance matters.”
Alleged Corruption At SAA
South African Airways has been plagued by continued allegations of corruption and fraud during its state-captured years. The airline was grounded during the COVID-19 pandemic in a business rescue package to help it survive the global downturn in aviation, which resulted in the carrier then being considered for partial privatization in 2021 — this deal never went through, and it remains a fully state-owned enterprise.
Investigations into the 
Star Alliancecarrier have seen several corruption scandals, which include a RA 375 million ($22 million) tyre tender scandal, while other questionable payments to the value of RA 1.8 billion ($108 million) between the airline and subsidiaries, employees, and other board members during the oversight of former board chair Dudu Myeni (2012 – 2017).
The handling of finances at the airline has been under immense scrutiny, with the country’s Auditor General Tsakaniu Maluleke noting in a report by the BBC that the financial statements published for the 2018 and 2019 financial year lacked any credibility in the four years from 2018 to 2022 also identifying that the airline lost more than RA 19 billion ($1.2 billion).
This Airline Is Planning To Resume Flights To The US East Coast
South African Airways is considering fifth-freedom flights to the United States.
South African Airways Operations
The carrier was grounded in May 2020, ceasing operations after 86 years of continued service. It was then planned that the government would create a new flagship carrier for the country. Instead, the carrier restarted operations in September 2021, and the airline maintains a network of 15 destinations while employing 2,000 employees. The airline has maintained subsidiaries Air Chefs, South African Airways Cargo, South African Airways Technical, and formerly Mango Airlines.
Following a considerable downsizing, the carrier today operates a modest fleet of 21 aircraft, with a select number of international long-haul services with a fleet of Airbus A330 and A340 widebody aircraft. Narrowbody operations are maintained by the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 MAX. Fleet specifics below as per ch-aviation:
|
Aircraft Type |
Number In Fleet |
|---|---|
|
Airbus A320-200 |
14 |
|
Airbus A330-300 |
Three |
|
Airbus A340-300 |
Two |
|
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
Two |
The airline has an established hub at 
Johannesburg Airport (JNB) – one of the busiest airports in Africa, with non-stop services offered to Abidjan, Accra, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Durban, Gaborone, Harare, Kinshasa–N’djili, Lagos, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, Mauritius, Perth, Port Elizabeth, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Victoria Falls, and Windhoek–Hosea Kutako. An additional secondary hub is held at Cape Town International Airport (CPT)
