South African Airways may sell prized Heathrow Airport slots

South African Airways may sell its two prized night-time operating slots at London’s Heathrow Airport as the state-owned carrier battles to stave off financial collapse.

The airline is currently using only one of the two take-off and landing slots and could shift London-Johannesburg flights to a cheaper daytime schedule. That would reduce costs as the turnaround time would be shorter and free up the more valuable night time slots for potential sale. The airline was placed under a local form of bankruptcy protection by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa after last making a profit in 2011 and having received 57 billion rand ($3.9 billion) in bailouts since 1994.