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By Reuters 
15h ago
Johannesburg – South African Airways’ maintenance subsidiary withdrew services to its parent after the troubled airline failed to pay money owed to the unit, a SAA spokesman said on Saturday.
Administrators took control of SAA in December after nearly a decade of financial losses and have been trying to keep it afloat as the coronavirus pandemic exacerbates its problems.
Spokesperson Tlali Tlali said that SAA Technical, a SAA subsidiary that provides vital maintenance services, including required inspections before a flight can take off, informed the airline of its decision in a letter.
“SAA Technical … as a registered company on its own, pursues its business interests,” Tlali told local news channel eNCA, adding that meetings will be held over the weekend to try to resolve the problem.
He added that while SAA did not operate commercial flights, it has been doing repatriation flights for South Africans stranded abroad due to the pandemic and some charter flights.
These services could be interrupted if SAA Technical does not reinstate its services.
Another SAA subsidiary, Mango, currently operates domestic commercial flights.
Mango said that it is currently operating normally and that “sensitive discussions” are taking place with SAA Technical to ensure that services are not interrupted.
SAA administrators published a rescue plan in June that requires more than R10 billion ($ 584.16 million) to function.
The Department of Public Enterprises has said that it is in the process of finalizing the financing and that the airline will not be liquidated.
“As it is, we are waiting for the (government) shareholder to give us an indication of when the funds will be available,” Tlali said, adding that financing was needed in the short term.
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