Ramaphosa faults airline plans to cut local routes

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (pictured) said on Friday that his government did not agree with plans to cut some of struggling South African Airways’ (SAA) domestic routes at the end of the month.

State-owned SAA entered a form of bankruptcy protection in December and is fighting for its survival.

Specialists appointed to try to rescue SAA said on Thursday that SAA would cease flights to Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth from February 29 as part of efforts to conserve cash.

SAA flights to Cape Town will continue on a reduced basis, the specialists said.

“We are not in agreement with what the rescue practitioners have come up with, that domestic flights should be cancelled. We want to find out what the rationale is,” Ramaphosa said.

“We want to have a discussion with them because SAA is not only a great symbol for the country, but it is also an economic enabler.”

Under South African company law, the business rescue team is entitled to take decisions that are deemed necessary to turn a distressed company around.

SAA hasn’t made a profit since 2011 and has received more than $1.3 billion in bailouts over the last three years.