Johannesburg - The provisional liquidation of troubled state-owned regional airline SA Express has been extended for another three months by the South Gauteng High Court.
The extension was granted after SA Express’s liquidators – Aviwe Ndyamara, Kgashane Monyela, Clifford Maredi, Soria Marais and Samantha Margolis-Pantellas – requested additional time to work on saving the ailing airline.
SA Express was placed under provisional liquidation in April by South Gauteng High Court Judge Mpostoli Twala, who set June 9 as the date for the liquidation to be made final.
The liquidators’ request was granted and the provisional liquidation order has been extended to September 9.
On Tuesday, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) reiterated that they were opposed to the airline’s liquidation.
”We believe that SA Express is a viable airline that can be saved, and every effort must be made to find alternatives. The judge granted the order on the basis that we approached the business rescue practitioners and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) to engage and explore the possibility of an investor purchasing a stake in the airline,” Numsa and Sacca indicated.
According to the unions, they have secured a possible investor from the United Arab Emirates who has expressed an interest in the airline.
”This extension will allow the investor to meet with DPE and hopefully come together on an agreement about the future of the airline,” Numsa and Sacca said.
The unions are still committed to saving both SA Express and SA Airways. They said they were committed to continuing to do everything possible to save both airlines and the thousands of jobs at stake.
SA Express employees, who were last paid in February, protested at the Union Buildings on Sunday, asking President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene as Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has not provided any assistance to them.