Money owed to aircraft lessors and some creditors of South African Airways (SAA) is not covered by a 10.5 billion rand ($665 million) government bailout, SAA’s administrators said, Reuters reported. South Africa’s government allocated the latest cash injection for SAA in last month’s mid-term budget, but says it will not put further money into the airline. SAA’s administrators told Reuters on Thursday that 1.7 billion rand owed to lessors and 600 million rand that it owes to creditors from before the airline went into administration nearly a year ago would not be covered. That could complicate government talks with prospective investors in SAA, which has not made a profit since 2011. They said that the additional debts are “only payable from next July and will be paid over a three-year period,” so the bailout money only covers “initial commitments.” The administrators forecast in June that SAA would lose more than 6 billion rand over the next three years. Some analysts expect greater losses given the damaging impact on air travel of the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here.
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