Johannesburg - South African Airways (SAA)
has saved enough cash to pay January salaries, specialists
appointed to try to turn around the struggling airline said on
Friday.
State-owned SAA is fighting for its survival after it
entered a form of bankruptcy protection last month and cancelled
some flights this week because of cash shortages.
"The business rescue practitioners and management have taken
various actions to ensure that cash is conserved. As a result we
have sufficient funds to pay January salaries," business rescue
specialists Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana said in a statement.
Matuson and Dongwana were promised R4 billion ($279
million) of funding from lenders and the government to sustain
rescue efforts for SAA but only received the 2 billion rand from
lenders.
Government officials are holding urgent meetings, trying to
find a way to raise the promised funding for SAA quickly without
exacerbating the country's budget deficit.