South Africa’s dynamic aviation market is preparing for a significant shift as Harith General Partners, one of the continent’s leading infrastructure-focused investment firms, moves to acquire low cost carrier FlySafair. The proposed deal, confirmed in early February 2026, promises to reshape not only the ownership of South Africa’s largest domestic airline but also the broader landscape of air travel and connectivity across the region. For travelers, industry stakeholders and policymakers, the transaction signals a new chapter for South African skies, one framed by local ownership, infrastructure integration and long term strategic capital.
A Landmark Deal in South African Aviation
The proposed acquisition centers on a Sale and Purchase Agreement through which Harith and its affiliates will acquire FlySafair from its current shareholders, including Irish based ASL Aviation Holdings. The deal is to be executed via a special purpose vehicle known as Harith Aviation, with completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to the usual competition and aviation regulatory approvals. While the purchase price has not been disclosed, Harith has indicated that the airline will represent a substantial slice of its portfolio, underscoring the strategic importance of the move.
For FlySafair, founded in 2014 and now commanding roughly two thirds of domestic seat capacity in South Africa, the transaction represents a shift from foreign dominated ownership to a fully South African shareholder base. The current ownership structure, which involved ASL Aviation Holdings both directly and indirectly, has been under scrutiny for several years. Under the new arrangement, FlySafair’s existing parent company shareholders are expected to sell their stakes to Harith Aviation, bringing the airline decisively under local control.
Harith, which manages around three billion dollars in assets and has built a strong track record in infrastructure investments, is not an unknown name in South African aviation. The firm previously led the Takatso consortium’s failed bid to take a majority stake in South African Airways and has long signaled its ambition to be a major player in the sector. Securing FlySafair, now the country’s dominant domestic carrier by capacity and a key regional player, therefore marks the fulfillment of a long pursued strategic objective.
Business as Usual for Passengers and Partners
While ownership headlines may be dramatic, FlySafair has moved swiftly to reassure passengers and partners that the acquisition will not disrupt day to day operations. In public statements, the airline has emphasized that it will continue trading under the FlySafair brand, led by the existing management team and following the same business model that has earned it a reputation for reliability, sharp on time performance and consistently competitive fares.
For travelers, this continuity matters. FlySafair’s growth has been built on a straightforward low cost model, a single type Boeing 737 fleet, and a dense domestic network linking key South African cities alongside a growing roster of regional routes. Its strong punctuality performance and no frills pricing have helped to democratize air travel for South Africans who once relied heavily on road transport or premium full service airlines. The airline’s message that it is “business as usual” under new shareholders is therefore aimed squarely at retaining customer trust.
Employees and commercial partners are also being told to expect stability rather than abrupt change. Harith’s investment approach focuses on acquiring established businesses with proven operating models and then supporting existing leadership rather than imposing radical restructures. In FlySafair, the fund has openly praised the management team and workforce that have turned a start up carrier into the country’s largest airline in just over a decade. This suggests that operational strategy, network planning and day to day decision making will continue to be driven from the airline’s current headquarters, with Harith playing the role of long term capital backer.
Resolving a Long Running Ownership Puzzle
Behind the deal lies a complex and highly scrutinized issue that has dogged FlySafair in recent years: compliance with South Africa’s foreign ownership limits. National regulations stipulate that at least 75 percent of the voting rights in a local airline must be held by South African residents. FlySafair’s structure, involving ASL Aviation Holdings and local shareholding vehicles including a trust and employee scheme, became the subject of detailed examination by the Air Services Licensing Council and competitors who challenged its compliance.
In early 2025, the council issued findings that effectively concluded that ASL’s direct and indirect interests exceeded the permitted foreign threshold. The airline contested aspects of the ruling and secured court relief that suspended a deadline to alter its structure, pending further legal review. Even so, the episode cast a shadow over FlySafair’s regulatory position and injected uncertainty into a carrier that had otherwise been viewed as a South African success story.
Harith’s proposed acquisition does not automatically resolve every outstanding legal and licensing question, a point that both sides have been careful to stress. Regulators will still need to examine the new ownership structure and confirm that it complies fully with the letter and spirit of local rules. Yet in practical terms, the shift to a domestic investor with strong South African institutional backing goes a long way toward addressing the underlying policy concern about foreign dominance. It allows authorities to treat FlySafair’s ownership as part of a broader national infrastructure and empowerment agenda rather than a technical compliance challenge.
Harith’s Vision of an Integrated Transport Ecosystem
From Harith’s perspective, the acquisition is not simply about owning an airline. It is a key element in a broader strategy to build an integrated transport ecosystem across Africa, linking airports, rail operators and airlines into a cohesive network. The firm already has interests in assets such as Lanseria International Airport near Johannesburg and private rail operator Traxtion, giving it a spread of transport and logistics holdings that serve both passengers and freight.
Adding FlySafair to this portfolio creates new possibilities for coordination. In time, travelers could benefit from better aligned schedules between air and rail services, more efficient ground operations at airports where Harith has influence, and product offerings that treat mobility as a door to door service rather than a series of disconnected legs. For business and tourism markets, an integrated approach can help reduce friction, shorten travel times and make regional connections more competitive compared with overseas hubs.
Harith markets itself as a provider of patient, long term capital aimed at enabling infrastructure that contributes to economic development. Aviation is a natural extension of that philosophy in Africa, where distances are large, surface transport capacity is often constrained, and air connectivity can unlock trade, tourism and investment in ways that ripple through entire regions. By aligning FlySafair’s growth with its existing infrastructure holdings, Harith is attempting to create a network effect in which each asset strengthens the value of the others.
Implications for Competition and Market Dynamics
FlySafair is no niche player. With a claimed 67 percent share of South Africa’s domestic airline market by seat capacity and a growing regional footprint, its decisions influence fares, route availability and service standards across the country. The transfer of control to Harith therefore raises important questions about competition, market dominance and the role of the state in commercial aviation, even if indirectly through ownership stakes in investment funds.
Regulators, particularly the Competition Commission, will examine whether the transaction risks entrenching monopoly like conditions in the domestic market. While FlySafair’s rise has been welcomed by many travelers for bringing down fares, its scale advantage can make it difficult for new entrants to compete, especially in smaller cities where demand is limited. The prospect of an airline that is both market leader and backed by a powerful infrastructure investor with state linked capital could add a further layer of complexity to that assessment.
At the same time, the deal comes after a long period of turbulence among South African airlines, which has seen carriers such as Comair and South African Express disappear and South African Airways undergo painful restructuring. In that context, a well capitalized low cost carrier with a solid financial backer may be viewed as a stabilizing force rather than a threat. The key question for regulators will be whether Harith’s involvement leads to behavior that harms consumers or stifles competition, or whether it simply provides FlySafair with the resources to keep investing in capacity and efficiency.
Travelers and Tourism: What Changes on the Ground
For most travelers booking a flight between Johannesburg and Cape Town or planning a weekend escape to a coastal city, the ownership structure of their chosen airline is a distant concern. What matters are fares, schedule options, baggage policies and the likelihood of arriving on time. On these fronts, both FlySafair and Harith are sending clear signals that the acquisition is designed to support, not disrupt, the airline’s existing customer proposition.
Low cost carriers thrive on simplification and consistency. FlySafair’s fleet commonality, point to point network and tight cost control have underpinned its ability to offer attractive prices while maintaining profitability and reliability. Harith has expressed admiration for this formula and explicitly committed to backing, rather than reinventing, the carrier’s strategy. For passengers, that suggests continuity in everything from cabin layouts to digital booking experiences.
There may, however, be longer term benefits for tourism and regional travel. With stronger capital backing, FlySafair will be better positioned to add capacity where demand is growing, launch new routes to underserved secondary cities and expand its regional presence into neighboring countries. For international visitors arriving in South Africa, a robust domestic low cost network enhances the appeal of using the country as a base to explore the wider region. For local tourism operators, reliable and affordable air links are often the decisive factor in attracting guests beyond the traditional major hubs.
Policy, Empowerment and Ownership in the Skies
The proposed FlySafair acquisition also carries a strong policy and political dimension. Harith is a Black empowerment focused investment firm with significant participation from the Public Investment Corporation, which manages funds on behalf of South African public sector employees. Bringing the country’s largest airline into partial state linked and empowerment oriented hands aligns with long standing goals to increase Black ownership and control in strategic sectors of the economy.
For policymakers, the deal can be presented as a case study in how domestic capital can step in to own and develop key infrastructure instead of relying on foreign operators. It also offers an opportunity to demonstrate that empowerment transactions need not come at the expense of operational performance or customer value. FlySafair’s brand is built on efficiency and discipline rather than political symbolism, and Harith is at pains to show that it sees these traits as the core of the airline’s appeal.
At the same time, the acquisition will be watched closely by critics who worry about creeping state influence in commercial aviation and potential parallels with South African Airways, which has struggled financially under full public ownership. The difference here is that Harith operates as a commercial private equity style investor with a mandate to deliver returns, even if its shareholder base includes public and development oriented institutions. How effectively it balances commercial imperatives with broader policy objectives will be a key test of the model.
A New Chapter for South African Skies
As the regulatory processes unfold through 2026, South Africa’s aviation sector will be observing the Harith FlySafair deal as a bellwether for the next phase of the market’s evolution. If approved and successfully implemented, the transaction will mark the emergence of a new kind of aviation champion: a domestically controlled, low cost carrier backed by an infrastructure investor with an explicitly pan African vision.
For South African travelers, the near term message is continuity. Flights will operate under the same banner, with the same crews and, for now, the same route map and service proposition. Behind the scenes, however, the shift in ownership could unlock new growth opportunities, from expanded regional connectivity to better integrated multi modal journeys. For tourism operators, businesses and communities that rely on air access, that potential is significant.
In the longer run, the acquisition speaks to a broader trend of African capital taking the lead in African aviation. Rather than relying solely on global airline groups or overseas private equity, local investors are increasingly willing to deploy funds into carriers, airports and supporting infrastructure, betting that demand for travel will continue to rise as economies grow and middle classes expand. Harith’s move to acquire FlySafair is a clear expression of that confidence.
As South Africa’s skies grow busier and regional air corridors become more important to trade and tourism, the combination of FlySafair’s operational strength and Harith’s infrastructure vision may prove to be a defining partnership. The coming months will show how regulators, competitors and customers respond, but one thing is already clear: a new chapter in the country’s aviation story is now well underway.