By Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Jubilant South African Airways (SAA) staff at the country’s biggest airport broke into song and dance on Thursday as the airline took to the skies for the first time in around a year.

COVID-19, a pandemic that ravaged the state-owned SAA, exacerbated its financial woes. The airline stopped operations in September after running out of money. The company exited administration https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-african-airways-exits-administration-after-17-months-2021-05-01 in April thanks to another massive government bailout.

On Thursday, it resumed its domestic flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Next week, it will start a reduced international service to five African capitals, Accra, Kinshasa Harare Harare Lusaka, Lusaka, Lusaka, and Lusaka.

“After waiting so many months for this moment to happen, I’m so excited. Mapula Ramatswi from SAA, a flight attendant at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport said that she is overjoyed.

I’m emotional about the fact it’s happening now, it was something we had never expected.

Ramatswi acknowledged that it was difficult financial times for her during the time SAA was ground, although her family supported her.

While an SAA plane carrying the South African flag’s tail fin took off, Ramatswi and her coworkers sang gospel songs, clapped, and danced near it.

After a thorough due diligence process, the government announced that it plans to sell SAA’s majority share to a consortium in South Africa. The share purchase agreement is still not signed.

This sale of 51% of SAA shares is part government effort to end repeated bailouts for ailing state businesses like SAA, Eskom and other power utilities Eskom which have put enormous strain on public finances.