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Ethiopian Airlines is in talks about a possible involvement in the rescue of flagship airline SAA, the airline’s chief told Reuters on Friday.
SAA has not made a profit since 2011 and has been under a form of bankruptcy protection since late last year. Creditors approved a restructuring plan, but the government needs to find at least R10 billion of funds to make it work.
“There is some discussion going on between ET and the South African Ministry of Public Enterprises,” said Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam, “but it is at a very early stage and is part of an overview of pan-African cooperation. in the world of aviation between ET and SAA “.
ET is the code for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) of Ethiopian Airlines.
Officials have said they have received an unsolicited interest in SAA, but have released few details about that interest. SAA has not conducted commercial passenger flights since March, when the government imposed a strict lockdown to contain the coronavirus.
Ethiopian Airlines lost $ 1 billion (R16.7 billion) in revenue from January to September due to the coronavirus outbreak, the airline said on Friday.
