South African Airways went into voluntary business rescue in December 2019 and the appointed practitioners have had to make many difficult decisions including cutting non-profitable domestic, regional and international flights. Many commentators from various levels of government and unions raised their concerns about the action, but the law is clear the BRP’s have Carte Blanche to do as they see fit to return the entity to profitability.
The joint BRPs of SAA, Mr. Les Matuson and Mr. Siviwe Dongwana have noted the comments made by the relevant unions, the various Provincial Governments, the DPE and the SACP regarding our recent actions with respect to restructuring SAA into a financially sustainable entity.
“The decisions we took and informed the public of this week were taken in the best interests of SAA. They are intended to make the airline commercially and operationally sustainable, free from the requirement of future funding from the Government post the implementation of the restructure,” commented the BRPs.
The actions are aimed at improving SAA’s balance sheet which is intended to create a platform for a strong and sustainable airline and so ensure that the company is more attractive for potential strategic equity partners.
The BRPs concluded, “We recognize the concerns raised, especially around the domestic routes. We will continue to engage with stakeholders, with a commitment to include inputs into the final business rescue plan, which is due to be published by the end of this month.”
