US could slap SAA with R10m penalty for delay in refunding tickets

South African Airways (SAA) is desperately seeking the last R1.5 billion required from Treasury, mainly to refund unflown tickets, interim CEO John Lamola told Parliament on Wednesday.

SAA went into business rescue in December 2019. When SAA had to stop flying due to a lack of funding, unflown tickets, which had to be refunded, made up part of its debt.

The US Department of Transportation has reached out to SAA to enquire why it is taking so long to refund US citizens for unflown tickets. The US has mentioned the possibility of imposing a penalty of US$500 000 (~R9.7 million) on SAA for not yet having made the refunds, the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises was told.