SAA business rescue practitioners defend decisions on embattled airline

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 03:04 pm

The joint South African Airways (SAA) business rescue practitioners (BRP) on Sunday defended steps taken to turn the embattled airline around, but also pledged to continue engaging stakeholders and to include inputs in the final business rescue plan.

The BRPs, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, have noted the comments made by the relevant unions, the various provincial governments, the public enterprises department, and the South African Communist Party regarding “our recent actions with respect to restructuring SAA into a financially sustainable entity”, they said in a statement.

“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,” they said.

The actions were aimed at improving SAA’s balance sheet which was intended to create a platform for a strong and sustainable airline and so ensure that the company was more attractive for potential strategic equity partners.

“We recognise 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,” they said.