South African Airways (SAA) is making moves to reclaim its position as a leading pan-African carrier, with Ghana playing a central role in its growth strategy.

During an exclusive engagement with travel trade partners and media in Accra on April 8, SAA's CEO, Prof John Lamola outlined the airline's remarkable turnaround and future plans to enhance Africa's global connectivity.

Addressing journalists, Prof Lamola highlighted SAA's successful transformation from a government-dependent entity to a commercially viable airline.

"Currently, South African Airways (SAA) is emerging as a restructured, revitalized airline that is with a renewed mission, expanding our routes, renewing our fleet to recapture South African Airways' status as one of the leading global brands on the continent of Africa as far as aviation is concerned. SAA can proudly state that it has an impeccable safety record on the continent of Africa. Secondly, we have been able to demonstrate in the past two years that as a national carrier, the national flagship of South Africa, it does not have to depend on the state for financial survival. We have restructured South African Airways to where it is fairly financially sustainable, and the biggest success for us is the manner in which SAA has been embraced by our market, or the continent of Africa, as an African reliable mode of air transport.”

The CEO highlighted Ghana's unique importance in SAA's network expansion. Describing Accra as "the most strategic hub for our West African operations," Prof Lamola pointed to Ghana's rich cultural heritage and strong ties with South Africa as key factors in this strategic focus.

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The airline is moving quickly to deepen its presence in the Ghanaian market, with immediate plans to increase flights between Johannesburg and Accra from four weekly to daily services.

Looking further ahead, SAA is evaluating two major route expansions that would significantly boost air travel options for West Africans. The airline is considering launching direct flights between Cape Town and Accra, while also working to reestablish Accra as a connecting hub for flights to the U.S. East Coast.

"Certainly, before the end of the next calendar year. It takes a long time, unfortunately, to launch a route, because of the regulatory processes," Prof Lamola revealed, noting that discussions with Ghana's Transport Minister had been productive in advancing these plans.

However, the CEO acknowledged significant challenges in realizing these ambitions. The global aviation industry continues to face aircraft shortages following the COVID-19 pandemic, while regulatory processes for new routes remain time-consuming.

“Certainly, before the end of the next calendar year. It takes a long time, unfortunately, to launch a route, because of the regulatory processes, but our biggest challenge that we have in SAA, like other airlines is the availability of aircraft, since after COVID, the industry has suffered a shortage of aircraft. AS soon as we get aircrafts, we have done our studies, we will want to start flying to the United States' east coast from Accra."