Johannesburg – The executive chairperson of South African Airways (SAA), John Lamola, has denied reports alleging that the airline will be liquidated if the strategic equity partnership (SEP) transaction is not concluded.
Lamola addressed these allegations in a statement released by SAA on Thursday.
“The SAA Board is constantly monitoring and assessing the corporate risks associated with this transitional period SAA is going through,” he said.
Lamola said that the transaction was beset with delays emanating from legal requirements to comply with aviation regulatory conditions, and the Competition Commission.
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“We can confirm that both SAA and the DPE [Department of Public Enterprises] are working on a time horizon of end of March 2023 for the substantive conclusion of the transaction, as this period marks a reportable end of current financial year 2022/23 for SAA,” Lamola said.
He said that SAA was more than satisfied that they had built the foundation for a sustainable and growing airline business.
“The loyalty of our customers has been restored, the rest of Africa is proud to see SAA back in the skies, we are currently implementing plans to increase our fleet of aircraft, and with our corporate partners we are modernizing our customer experience offering, including the renovation of our airport lounges,” he said.
He said that the SAA board will do everything in its power to ensure SAA survived.
“As a company with an overhead cost structure and operating model that have been restructured by the Business Rescue process, and a transformed management culture, SAA is poised for a sustained growth,” Lamola stated.
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Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
