FlySafair has grown from a two-aircraft operation in 2014 to more than 30 planes, and it is now the biggest domestic airline in the country. This week the Competition Tribunal cleared Harith, a Sandton-based private equity firm that invests in infrastructure, to buy all of it.
The approval came with conditions, which are due to be made public soon. When the Competition Commission recommended the deal in July, its proposed conditions were about Lanseria, the country's only privately owned international airport, in which Harith owns about 37%. The Commission wanted no collusion or anti-competitive conduct linked to that stake.
The ownership rule behind the sale
There was also a law to satisfy. South African airlines must be at least 75% locally owned, and in 2024 the Domestic Air Services Council found FlySafair in breach, because trusts and companies rather than people held three-quarters of its voting rights. That ruling followed a complaint by Lift, a local rival.
Harith's money is local, which is the point. It says the deal keeps "ownership in SA", and Sipho Makhubela, chief executive of Harith General Partners, called it "a demonstration of long-term South African capital backing a successful South African business". For passengers it promises very little change: FlySafair carries on under its own management team with the same low-cost formula, and its chief executive, Elmar Conradie, says he is "excited about the road ahead" with the new shareholder.
An investor that wanted SAA first
Harith has wanted an airline for a while. Through the Takatso consortium it negotiated for a controlling stake in SAA, the state airline kept alive by taxpayer bailouts, and walked away in 2024. It already holds stakes in Lanseria and in Traxtion, Africa's largest private rail operator.
FlySafair is a far bigger bite for a firm that manages about $3 billion. Business Day puts the price at around R7 billion, which would make it one of Harith's biggest investments in its 20 years, and the firm has said the airline will make up about 15% of its portfolio, paid for with a mix of debt and equity.
The Tribunal was not the last hurdle. Other regulatory approvals and conditions still have to be met before the deal can be completed, which Harith expects in late 2026, so for now FlySafair is approved for sale but not yet handed over.
