South African Airways is considering selling its prime landing slots at London Heathrow, echoing a controversial move by Kenya Airways in 2016 as the struggling carrier seeks funds to support operations and aircraft purchases.

The airline aims to bolster its balance sheet after previous privatisation efforts stalled, with its board informing a parliamentary committee that it has been exploring the sale of Heathrow slots currently leased to Qatar Airways and British Airways.

Kenya Airways sold a coveted Heathrow slot for approximately Ksh7.5 billion ($70 million) in 2016, a transaction that has since impacted its competitiveness on the route.

The sale of its prized 5:30 am arrival slot marked one of the highest prices paid for a Heathrow slot, surpassing the $60 million American Airlines paid to Scandinavian airline SAS the previous year.

"This has to be a consideration - and this is a discussion we'll have with the shareholder - the possibility of monetising, of taking one of the slots at least," an SAA representative said, as reported by Flight Global.

"Even during our peak operations to London, we were only utilising one of these landing slots. Selling one could provide crucial capital for the airline."

SAA's privatisation plan, led by the Takatso Group, was cancelled despite initial government approval.

The Takatso consortium had been set to acquire a 51 perent stake in SAA, aiming to revive the airline with fresh investment after three years of negotiations.

However, the collapse of the deal has left SAA without a private capital infusion to stabilise its financial footing.