Comair, the owner of Kulula.com, and the local operator for British Airways says they don’t expect to resume operations until either October or November.
For the period 17 March to 30 April 2020, in terms of the lockdown, Comair has been unable
to operate and won’t start operating during level 4 either.
According to the government’s plans to gradually reopen the economy, restricted air travel will only commence at Level 3, full domestic air travel at Level 2 and regional and international air travel at Level 1.
The JSE-listed Comair said in a stock exchange statement on Thursday that it’s lobbying the state for “special aid” through industry initiatives.
However the government, through the Department of Public Enterprises, is reportedly currently focussed on securing the future of flag carrier South African Airways, which has been under business rescue since December 2019.
Comair said it has started negotiations with the banking industry with the hopes of securing bridging finance.
They have been open about experiencing financial difficulty before the outbreak of the pandemic, but said that the five-week lockdown had “caused the situation to rapidly deteriorate to a point where the Company finds itself in a very difficult financial position.”
Comair reportedly made an operating loss of R562 million for the interim results to the end of December.
According to reports, South Africa’s airline industry looks as though it will remain in crisis territory for the rest of the year.
