( 3 minutes read)
· Pressure is being exerted against liquidating SA Express (SAX).
· A first officer on the rolls of the airline has written in an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa not to go for the liquidation and instead pleaded for ensuring its continuance.
· SAX has helped disadvantaged people to become pilots and served a social purpose
Pressure is being exerted against liquidating SA Express (SAX). A first officer on the rolls of the airline has written in an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa not to go for the liquidation and instead pleaded for ensuring its continuance.
The South African government owned regional airline is placed on provisional liquidation since its business rescue practitioners and the
department of Public Enterprises did not come to an agreement on the rescue plan. The debt ridden airline stopped paying salaries to
mployees and vendors.
The pilot who wrote the letter -Lebogang Matlala-said that liquidating SAX would be a blow to transformation in South Africa’s airline industry. He flagged the president’s attention to the threat that lies with the absence of SA Express, including the end of the dreams of many.
Pilot training is costly and the price tag is between R700 000 and R1 million. They have to undergo regular tests to prove their competence since any sign of weakness will reflect on the operations of the airline. He also brought to the notice of the president the role played by SAX in helping the disadvantaged people to realize their dreams. So far, around 80 pilots from previously disadvantaged groups had come up the ranks through SA Express. According to statistics provided by the SA Civil Aviation Authority in its 2018-19 annual report, 348 people from previously disadvantaged groups held commercial pilot licenses, compared to 2 772 white people. The little transformation, he
aid, has been achieved primarily through SA Express.
SA Express was once one of the most respected companies in aviation and was the fastest growing regional airline in Africa. It did cost the taxpayer nothing, but actually yielded profits. It was mismanagement and poor governance that dimmed the light of this thriving business.
