Civil Aviation Authority suspends Comair's AOC indefinitely
In receivership since May 2020, Comair is now struggling to get back on course. A key player in the South African domestic market, it had been profitable for 74 consecutive years before the health crisis.
Comair will not fly again, until it finally exits the rescue process. This is the consequence of the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) suspending its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) on Monday 6 June 2022. "This morning we announced to Comair that its AOC is now suspended indefinitely until it closes its commercial rescue," said SACAA spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu, quoted by Times Aerospace.
The suspension of the CTA comes six days after the parent company of Kulula.com, and British Airways franchise, suspended flights due to lack of funds to sustain operations. "The company's Business Rescue Practitioners (BRP) have indicated that the process of raising the necessary capital is underway, and that there is reason to believe that such funding could be obtained. Once received, the airline will be able to resume operations," the carrier promised.
This is not the first time this has happened. SACAA had already suspended its AOC between 13 and 17 March this year for safety reasons. In any case, this is a blow to the South African air transport market, given that the airline based at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport accounts for about 40% of the rainbow nation's domestic seat capacity.
It should be recalled that in October 2020, Comair reached an agreement with SA Bidco (made up of the airline's former employees) to buy 99% of the capital. The future majority shareholder promised to inject 500 million rand (25 million euros) for the relaunch of the South African private airline, and to finance a loan of 600 million rand (31 million euros), necessary to strengthen its financial strength. But so far the deal has not been finalised.
