South Africa’s struggling national airline South African Airways (SAA) has exited bankruptcy protection known as business rescue after about 17 months.
The company was placed under administration in December 2019, and its long-standing financial woes worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. All operations were suspended in September 2020.
Business rescue administrators said they had filed a notice of “substantial implementation” of a business rescue plan with South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.
That meant they had “effectively discharged the business rescue and handed over the operations of SAA back to its board and executive team”, adding SAA was now solvent.
The airline is one of the State-owned companies that rely on government bailouts, placing the budget under huge strain at a time of rapidly rising debt.
The department of public enterprises said the government was in the concluding stages of negotiations with a preferred equity partner for SAA.
No date has been communicated by the administrators or the department on the resumption of SAA flights.
In its statement: “A purchase and sale agreement should be concluded in the next few weeks. This will enable capital, and much-needed technical and commercial expertise, to be brought in to ensure a competitive flag carrier emerges…”
The SAA Business Rescue Practioners (BRPs) got R200 Million from government.