South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has withdrawn a lawsuit against former employee Thanusha Chiba over allegations that she possessed confidential and proprietary company information, concluding proceedings first reported in March 2024 by City Press newspaper.

According to Chiba's attorney, Bhavna Mungul of Harkison Mungul Inc., the case (no. 2024-027568) filed in the South African High Court, Gauteng division, was withdrawn before arguments were heard and never reached a ruling. As part of the withdrawal, SAA agreed to pay Chiba's legal costs, which have since been settled.

Mungul said that no court findings were made against Chiba, a former pricing analyst at SAA, and the allegations contained in the application were never proven. No criminal charges were pursued in connection with the matter.

In court submissions, Chiba denied the allegations, stating that she had not retained any proprietary SAA information and had handed over all relevant materials before leaving the airline.

ch-aviation has contacted SAA for comment.