SAA RESCUERS NEGOTIATE TWO-MONTHS EXTENSION

THE BUSINESS rescue practitioners (BRPs) of South African Airways (SAA) will have more time to iron out the rescue plan of the cash-strapped airline after its lenders and creditors granted them a two-months extension. This is a second extension after creditors gave the BRPs an approval at the end of February to extend publication of their plan to the end of this month. In terms of Section 150 (5) of the Companies Act, lenders and creditors were requested to agree on an extension by the BRPs on March 20. The rescuers, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, confirmed that a further extension for publication of the plan from March 31 to May 29 had been approved by the requisite majority of creditors holding voting interests in the company. SAA was placed under business rescue in December following a cash crunch that saw the airline failing to meet its financial obligations. The Stateowned national carrier has experienced numerous financial and business challenges, and accumulated losses of some R26 billion over the past six years. The rescuers have already issued a notice advising SAA employees of the intention to begin imminent consultations which will affect at least 4 708 employees. They said that the changes required at SAA were both structural and economic and urgent if liquidation was to ultimately be avoided in which event all employees would lose their jobs. This week, SAA suspended all its domestic flights with effect from today until April 16, 2020, after the government announced a nation-wide lockdown for 21 days aimed at combating the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19). SAA’s intercontinental and Africa regional flights have also been suspended until May 31.