South African Airways ZS-SFJ Airbus A319-100 cut through the overcast sky as it touched down at King Shaka International Airport in Durban to much fanfare on Friday.

A water canon salute welcomed the 17-year-old plane as it was the first flight by South Africa’s flag carrier to ferry passengers from Johannesburg to Durban in more than two years.

SAA resumed operations in September after private consortium Takatso bought a majority stake in SAA. 

Last month the Sunday Times reported the sale had finally been concluded which would see Takatso holding a 51% interest in the airline.

Takatso consists of pan-African infrastructure investor Harith General Partners and local aviation group Global Aviation, the owner of low-cost carrier Lift.

Takatso chair Tshepo Mahloele is also chair of Arena Holdings, which publishes the Sunday Times, TimesLIVE and Business Day.​

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