Government plans to retain a minority shareholding in South African Airways while ceding management control to its investors, an official said.
Two unions on Friday rejected job cuts proposed to rescue South African Airways, which has cost the government more than R17-billion to stave off bankruptcy and will cost it about half that again to reform.
South African Airways’ administrators proposed the government put up at least R26.7-billion to rescue the carrier after years of losses and the grounding of commercial passenger flights.
Government has provisionally agreed to allocate at least R21-billion to the country’s embattled national airline to help repay debt and resume operations after the lifting of Covid-19 travel bans.
South African Airways administrators delivered a stark choice to those opposing their plan to fire the entire workforce and sell assets: it’s either that or full liquidation.
South African Airways plans to lay off its entire 4 700-strong workforce after failing to persuade the government to provide more financial help.
South African Airways has been denied any further funding by government as the national carrier looks for ways to recover from the coronavirus crisis and business rescue.
Vuyani Jarana, the former chief officer of Vodacom Business and former CEO of South African Airways, has invested in mobile telecommunications infrastructure supplier Mobax.
South African Airways will suspend all its domestic flights with effect from Friday, 27 March. The suspension of all domestic flights follows the suspension of both international and regional flights.
Embattled state-owned airline South African Airways will suspend all international and regional flights, retaining only the Johannesburg-Cape Town route, as it battles the devastating effects of coronavirus lockdowns.
