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South African Airways says flights 'normal' as funding woes continue

Video Credit: Reuters Studio - Duration: 01:10s - Published
South African Airways says flights 'normal' as funding woes continue

South African Airways says flights 'normal' as funding woes continue

South Africa's struggling state-owned airlines said on Monday that flights to all destinations are operating as normal, as government discussions continue to try and rescue the carrier.

Sisipho Skweyiya reports.

Struggling state-owned carrier South African Airways said on Monday (January 20) its services to all destinations were continuing as normal after talks over the weekend on a bailout plan for the airline ended with no solution.

SAA is one of several state entities, including power company Eskom, struggling with debt after nearly a decade of mismanagement.

Their woes are the single biggest threat to Africa's most industrialized economy and have been largely responsible for bringing South Africa's credit rating to the brink of junk.

Government officials are now scrambling to work out how they can provide two billion rand promised to SAA when it entered a form of bankruptcy protection last month.

SAA's rescue practitioners held talks throughout the weekend to try and resolve the situation but a person briefed on the talks said no solution had been found as of Sunday (January 19) evening.

Last week, a senior trade union official said SAA may have to suspend some flights and delay salary payments if the government didn't come up with a plan to provide the funding soon.




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