The South African government would need to find at least 10 billion rand ($580 million) in new bailout funds if it wants to rescue South African Airways (SAA) with most of its routes intact, a long-delayed rescue plan showed, Trend reports citing Reuters.
State-owned SAA’s longstanding frailties have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has pushed even previously profitable airlines into financial distress.
SAA suspended commercial passenger flights in March, when the government imposed one of Africa’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns.
Rescue efforts have been the subject of fierce wrangling between the government, which wants SAA retained as a national asset, and the administrators who took over the airline in December after almost a decade of financial losses.
The administrators’ restructuring plan on Tuesday proposed the government fund or raise funding for a working capital injection of around 2.8 billion rand, 2.2 billion rand for layoffs, 3 billion rand for unflown tickets, 600 million rand for general concurrent creditors and 1.7 billion rand for lessors.
David Adams
Article URL : https://en.trend.az/business/transport/3256090.html