Ministers 'vulnerable To Illness' If They Don't Fly Business Class: Gayton Mckenzie

Sport, Art and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has offered an epic justification for why ministers need to fly business class for long-haul flights, including being vulnerable to illness.

In a reply to a recent parliamentary question by ActionSA member of Parliament MP Alan Beesley, McKenzie also suggested that it would be impractical and even sadistic for them to fly economy class.

The Minister revealed that taxpayers footed a R2.5 million bill for the 11 international round trips he has undertaken since his appointment in July 2024. This includes flights and accommodation.

However, he emphasised that official trips are work and not holidays or joyrides, adding that as a successful businessman, he had already travelled to most places in the world long before I was ever a Minister.

I've effectively seen the world three times over, often in first class, and travel is neither a novelty nor exceptionally exciting for me, McKenzie claimed.

These trips can be exhausting for Ministers and their support staff. They are an essential part of a job performed by people who are working hard and very long hours in service to their country.

He said he once spent a whole day on four separate flights to reach The Gambia in very cramped and - nevertheless - expensive economy class.

I trust that this would also put in context the need to fly in business class for longer hauls. There is never a moment to recover after these flights, and one must be ready to go to the first meeting, sometimes within the first hour of arriving - either at the destination country or immediately once home again, the Minister argued.

To expect Ministers and professionals in government to be able to do this, in often relentless working conditions week in and week out, and after a travel time of more than 30 hours in some cases, would simply be impractical and even sadistic.

We would certainly not be effective or efficient after such flights, which would self-defeat the point of travelling in the first place. Additionally, it would make officials, diplomats and executive members even more vulnerable to illness than they already are from undertaking these trips.