The benefits of promoting energy security and job creation will encourage "policy stability" in the USA and maintain cross-party support for the Inflation Reduction Act's SAF provisions, in the view of a senior figure within the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Environment and Energy. Speaking at IATA's Wings of Change event in Rome on 20 November, the office's chief scientific and technical adviser Anna Oldani noted that the Inflation Reduction Act had secured support "across both parties" because of its benefits for domestic energy security, "which I think we all understand and value", as well as its boosting of rural economic development. "All of these things build up into a much greater picture than just 'We are doing this because we want to improve overall sustainability of a hard-to-abate sector'," she adds. The re-election of President Trump has raised questions about the future of the act, designed to turbocharge investment in the USA's green economy by funnelling billions into low-carbon projects, including development of SAF. Trump has said he will cancel some parts of the act and has appointed fossil-fuel-energy executives to lead key government departments, but he has also come under pressure to maintain other parts of the investment, much of which has been directed to Republican-controlled states. Industry executives largely consider the Act's SAF provisions to be a success, incentivising a huge amount of investment which has outstripped other regions of the world. Oldani adds that the act's SAF provisions boost production not only of low-carbon fuels for aviation but also of other outputs such as renewable diesel for trucks, making their continuation a "win-win-win for everyone" and enabling "policy consistency over time".

South African Airways and its subsidiaries made a net profit of R252 million ($13.9 million) in its 2022/23 financial year, the airline has disclosed. Total revenue in the year to March 2023 rose to R5.7 billion from R2 billion the previous year. The financial year 2022/23 was the first full one since SAA exited business rescue and restarted operations in September 2021. SAA's airline operations generated a positive EBITDA of R277 million, compared with a negative one of R1 billion a year earlier. The airline says the positive performance was achieved despite a challenging global aviation environment and uncertainty around its future with a strategic equity partner. SAA operated six to eight aircraft during the financial year, serving only nine destinations. Since then, it has doubled its number of operational aircraft, and seven more are to be delivered during the financial year 2025/26 under lease deals. The airline has also increased its routes to 16. "These pleasing results of the 2022/23 financial year are emblematic of the hard and careful work that went into the relaunching of SAA as a reliable airline and globally admired brand," states SAA interim chief John Lamola. "This has put SAA on a path to financial sustainability without reliance on the fiscus."

US President-elect Donald Trump has said his nominee for transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, will "make our skies safe again" by eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for pilots and air traffic controllers. "The husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on Fox News, and the father of nine incredible children, Sean knows how important it is for families to be able to travel safely, and with peace of mind," Trump says in a statement, which did not provide details on how DEI policies have contributed to making aviation less safe. The President-elect adds that Duffy will prioritise "excellence, competence, competitiveness and beauty" when "rebuilding" the USA's highways, tunnels, bridges and airports. Duffy started his career as a district attorney for Ashland, Wisconsin, and was later elected to the US House of Representatives for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district, according to Trump's statement. Duffy is also currently the co-host of a programme on the Fox Business Network. As head of the US Department of Transportation, Duffy's role would involve oversight of the US Federal Aviation Administration. The current US transportation secretary is Pete Buttigieg, who was nominated by President Joe Biden.