Less than 40% of SAA flights ran on time

According to Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, 1,451 South African Airways flights experienced delays in October. 

Creecy was responding to a parliamentary question from MP and leader of Rise Mzansi, Songezo Zibi, who asked for the statistics of delayed flights for the year to date. 

According to the response, 9,941 SAA flights have been delayed this year, an average of 994 per month.

SAA’s flight schedule, updated in September 2025, shows that the airline operates 533 flights per week. If no flights are cancelled, this amounts to 2,359 flights per month. 

On average, therefore, around 42% of SAA flights were delayed this year.

For October, Creecy reports that 1,451 flights were delayed. This means that 61.5% of flights were delayed in October, and only 38.5% arrived on time. 

The data splits flight delays into sections, including delays of up to one hour, delays of 1 to 2 hours, delays of 2 to 3 hours, and delays of over 3 hours. The majority of flight delays were less than one hour. 

The international standard for airline on-time performance is to only categorise a flight as delayed if it is departing or arriving over 15 minutes late. 

This falls far short of Airports Company South Africa’s (ACSA’s) overall on-time performance goal for all airlines of 95% on time flights.

Creecy said that the delays were caused by technical aircraft maintenance, air traffic control issues and flight operations.

South Africa’s Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS), a state-owned entity managing the South African airspace, has caused delays to all airlines in the country over the past year.

226 of ATNS’s Instrument Flight Procedures were suspended in 2024 after ATNS missed several renewal deadlines. These procedures dictate the process of navigating low-visibility conditions for aircraft. 

Ageing aircraft and air traffic navigation issues

The delays have affected the majority of South African airports. Despite this, The Citizen reported that ATNS paid R130 million in executive bonuses this year. 

SAA is “actively engaging with ATNS via industry forums to improve procedures and staffing, aiming to reduce flow restrictions and delays,” Creecy said.

Even so, the minister said that the ATNS issues are only responsible for 4.52 to 10.17% of SAA delays per month. 

Aircraft maintenance was listed as a key issue. Creecy said that this stems from the fact that SAA planes are old.

“Considering the age of the fleet, SAA and SAA Technical (SAAT) have launched an intervention programme to improve turnaround efficiency, spare parts availability and maintenance planning coordination,” the minister said.

“SAA is actively implementing operational improvements and engaging with relevant stakeholders to address and prevent delays,” Creecy concluded. 

SAA was racked by allegations of fraud and corruption during the state capture years of Jacob Zuma’s presidency. It was put under business rescue and grounded in 2020 for 544 days.

It has since recovered and flies 16 different domestic and international routes. The last time the airport reported a profit, however, was 2012. 

The airline has received R48.4 billion from the National Treasury in bailouts between 2013 and 2023. 

The airline is one of the oldest in the world, celebrating its 90th birthday in 2024. This year, the airline appointed its first board of permanent directors since relaunching. 

The airline said it is regaining operational strength and slowly reconnecting South Africa to the rest of the world.