The amended visa dispensation has had a profound impact on the South African tourism sector and the operations of SAA, which stood to lose an estimated R574m per year before the regulations were overhauled.

This was revealed by SAA’s newly appointed acting CEO, Musa Zwane, who, together with SAA Board Chairperson Dudu Myeni, appeared before a joint sitting of the Standing Committees on Finance and Public Enterprises at Parliament in Cape Town on November 18.

Zwane said the estimated loss was based on SAA having recorded a 41% drop in children travelling and 7% less adults traveling between June and September this year.  There had also been a 3% drop in infants traveling during the period. The requirement of unabridged birth certificates had resulted in a drop of 1.4m to 1.2m passengers traveling on SAA during the same period.

He said transit visas also presented a serious hindrance to the development of OR Tambo International Airport as a continental hub.

Zwane however also acknowledged that the visa restrictions were not wholly to blame for the financial losses at SAA over the past few years. He said other contributing factors included a weak currency; an ageing fleet and increasing high funding costs.