Creditors and stakeholders have voted to accept a US$1.6 billion
rescue deal for South African Airways. An interim CEO has also been appointed.
At a meeting convened by SAA’s Business Rescue
Practitioners, 86 per cent of creditors voted in favour of the plan, passing
the 75 per cent threshold required.
South Africa’s Department of Public Enterprises welcomed the
result. “A new restructured, competitive airline, born out of the old, is the
best option to immediately take back [the airline] to the skies and preserve
the brand of a national carrier,” said the DPE in a statement.
It said the rescue package, which also includes thousands of
redundancies, is a “much better outcome” for creditors and SAA employees than
liquidation.
“The government remains confident that the implementation of
the business rescue plan will balance the rights and interests of all parties,”
adds the DPE.
Philip Saunders, previously chief commercial officer at SAA,
has been appointed interim CEO.
Under the plans, the airline is expected to begin a
staggered resumption of operations between July 2020 and January 2021.