AFTER it was given a deadline of 90-days, embattled South African Airways (SAA), said it will be providing the information to the Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC).
In a statement, SAA said it confirmed the receipt of a letter from the ASLC citing a few possible breaches of the Air Services Licensing Act No 115 of 1990 and directing SAA to provide certain information to afford the council an opportunity to ascertain SAA’s compliance and/or noncompliance with the Act.
“SAA is currently studying the contents of the letter and will be responding fully to the ASLC within or before the timeframe provided by the council. SAA assures its customers and the public that the matters raised in the letter are of an administrative nature relating to the SEP transaction that is currently being negotiated by the Government, as the shareholder as well as issues relating to SAA’s interaction with the ASLC, the submission of financial statements and internal staff movement,” the airline said on Friday.
“The questions raised in the letter do not impact on SAA’s current and future operations as well as the quality of the services provided by SAA. To that end, both local and regional services are continuing uninterrupted,” SAA further said.
Yesterday, the council issued SAA with a notice to provide it with three relevant documents within 90 days on the disposal of its majority stake to a private party, Takatso Consortium, failing which SAA’s operating licence could be suspended.
This comes after SAA failed to notify the council of the transaction more than a year after it was initiated and announced by the Department of Public Enterprises. SAA, Lift and FlySafair remain the only domestic airlines available to a growing aviation market due to the termination of Covid-19 travel restrictions after Comair went burst, while low-cost carrier Mango is close to being liquidated. — IOL