South African Airways announced on Twitter that it will restart flying between limited destinations from 23rd September. This is after a year of halted operations due to failed debt repayment.
In July, the government had said that it was selling a 51% stake in the carrier to Takatso consortium, which had committed more than R3bn to bring the airline back. This contribution should be sufficient to operate the airline for 12 to 36 months.
SAA is one of several of the country’s debt-ridden enterprises that have continuously relied on the government to bail them out. SAA entered a form of bankruptcy protection in December 2019, however, its state worsened as the pandemic restricted air travel and put a greater toll on its cash flow.
“After months of diligent work, we are delighted that SAA is resuming service,” the airline said on Twitter, quoting interim chief executive Thomas Kgokolo.
To start, SAA will reopen flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Accra, Kinshasa, Harare, Lusaka and Maputo. More destinations will be added to the route network as it ramps up operations according to market conditions.