All Africa news – Page 34
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NewsGovernment puts R10bn aside for SAA in medium term
South Africa’s government has provisionally set aside R3.8 billion ($212 million) for troubled flag-carrier South African Airways and another R164 million for SA Express in the current fiscal year. Department of public enterprises deputy director general Kgathatso Tlhakudi gave the figure during a 20 May presentation before the parliamentary portfolio ...
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NewsRescuers believe Comair has ‘reasonable’ chance of survival
South African carrier Comair’s business rescue practitioners believe there is a reasonable chance of the Johannesburg-based airline’s being saved. The airline’s board opted to enter business rescue on 4 May. Practitioners Shaun Collyer and Richard Ferguson met with creditors and employees on 19 May to outline the carrier’s position. They ...
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NewsSouth African CAA postpones replacing lost calibration jet
South Africa’s civil aviation regulator has been forced to defer ICAO audits, and postpone replacement of its lost flight-calibration aircraft, as a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak. The Civil Aviation Authority told a parliamentary transport portfolio committee on 18 May that it had drawn up three scenarios for the development ...
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NewsSAA rescuers given deadline to deliver business plan
South African Airways’ rescue practitioners have been instructed to produce a formal business plan for airline within 25 days, after a parliamentary standing committee expressed dissatisfaction with a draft publication. The standing committee on public accounts is also seeking a full schedule of fees from the practitioners, their advisers, and ...
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NewsSAA practitioners spent R10bn during five-month rescue effort
South African Airways’ business rescue practitioners spent R9.9 billion ($532 million) in the five months after they were called upon to try to save the loss-making airline. Testifying by video link to a parliamentary committee on 15 May, practitioner Siviwe Dongwana stated that the sum was used between 5 December ...
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NewsSAA defies shutdown as unions claim labour court victory
South African Airways is to continue conducting services for the time being, defying the 8 May date for cessation of operations given by the airline’s business rescue practitioners Unions are claiming a Labour Court victory after they brought a case to halt a retrenchment process for the carrier’s personnel. SAA ...
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NewsSAA on brink as government scrambles to defer ‘drop dead’ date
South Africa’s government is urgently trying to extend the period of operations for South African Airways after the carrier’s business rescue practitioners warned that 8 May would amount to a “drop dead” day when all flights would cease. The country’s public enterprises minister, Pravin Gordhan, outlined to a parliamentary committee ...
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NewsMango 737 ground-collision crew opted against safer taxi route
South African investigators have stated that Johannesburg airport ground control should have instructed pilots of a Mango Boeing 737-800 to deviate from a taxiway, rather than give them the option, before the aircraft struck a taxiing Comair jet. But the inquiry into the incident, on 19 April last year, makes ...
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NewsCameroon picks Marshall for C-130 maintenance
The UK’s Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group has secured a five-year contract to maintain the Cameroon air force’s Lockheed Martin C-130H tactical transports.
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NewsSouth Africa’s Comair files for business rescue
South African carrier Comair has become the latest operator in the country to enter business rescue, as it aims to restructure to deal with the coronavirus crisis. Comair made a pre-tax loss of R645 million ($35 million) for the six months to 31 December. “While we had started making good ...
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NewsOpposition heaps scorn on detail-light plan for SAA transformation
South Africa’s political opposition is insisting the government detail an agreement with South African Airways unions setting out plans to establish a successor to the crumbling flag-carrier. In a response accusing the department of public enterprises of undermining SAA’s business rescue practitioners, the Democratic Alliance says it will seek a ...
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NewsFastjet negotiates loan as liquidity squeeze continues
African budget operator Fastjet Group has negotiated a $600,000 loan and is holding discussions to obtain creditor discounts to reduce its liabilities. The loan – initially for a six-month term – has been obtained from shareholder Solenta Aviation Holdings to provide working capital and liquidity while Fastjet’s operations are suspended ...
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NewsComair expects to remain grounded until at least October
South Africa’s Comair is in “a very difficult financial position” due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions and does not anticipate being able to resume flights until October or November, the carrier has disclosed.
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Airline BusinessHow would SAA collapse affect South Africa’s airline connectivity?
If South African Airways fails to find a way through its current funding crisis, it could leave a big hole in its home country’s connectivity, depending on which routes are considered viable as coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
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NewsSAA left with no options but wind-down or liquidation: rescue practitioners
South African Airways’ business rescue practitioners have warned that the exhaustion of funding to draw up a rescue plan for the flag-carrier has left them with two stark options for the airline. The practitioners state that they are facing the choice of attempting to secure a better return for SAA’s ...
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NewsFastjet sells ERJ-145 to Solenta to offset maintenance debt
African budget operator Fastjet Group has sold a dormant Embraer ERJ-145 to Solenta Aviation in a deal to reduce debts owed for maintenance work within Fastjet’s Zimbabwean division. The ERJ-145 had been used for Fastjet’s operations in Mozambique before the company suspended services in the country last year. Fastjet Group ...
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NewsAir Mauritius files for voluntary administration
Struggling Air Mauritius has entered voluntary administration after the board resolved that with coronavirus grounding it would not be able to meet its financial obligations in the foreseeable future.
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NewsSouth African government presses unions for concessions to rebuild SAA
South Africa’s government is pressing unions to avert a collapse of South African Airways and ensure that the business rescue strategy results in the emergence of a more competitive carrier. It has asked unions to submit proposals on restructuring the carrier and, in particular, details on the future of jobs. ...
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NewsFirst Nigerian Super Tucano conducts maiden sortie
The first A-29 Super Tucano due for delivery to the Nigerian air force has conducted its maiden flight from Jacksonville, Florida.
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Airline BusinessCoronavirus crisis threatens to push South African carriers over the edge
While the coronavirus pandemic has had a wide-ranging impact across African carriers, the timing of the crisis has been particularly calamitous for South Africa’s struggling airline sector.