It is as yet unclear whether taxpayers will end up having to bail out South African Airways (SAA) once again or whether a knight in shining armour will materialise in the form of a strategic equity partner.
SAA went into business rescue at the start of December last year. At the end of June, creditors accepted a rescue plan which would need about R10.5 billion in additional funding for, among other things, voluntary severance packages and retrenchments (R2.2 billion) and working capital (about R2 billion) to get the airline off the ground again. Over the past decade alone, SAA has received about R30 billion in government bailouts.
In a statement on Friday, the DPE was adamant that SAA will not be liquidated. Yet, there has, up to now, been no sign of any funding - whether from a private or public source.
