Cash-strapped South African Airways (SAA) is set to make dramatic cuts in order to get its house back in order, news agency Reuters reports.

Chief executive Vuyani Jarana – who has been in the job just six months – told the agency “there cannot be sacred cows” when it comes to South Africa’s flag carrier.

“My view is that the starting point to getting out of the hole is to stop digging, you stop doing the things that sink you deeper into trouble,” he added.

Mr Jarana would not be drawn on exactly how many jobs would be lost, but sources told Reuters it was somewhere in the region of 1,000 to 1,500.