The easing of the lockdown regulations to allow for limited air travel will do little to save struggling airlines, which are a key driver contributing about R180bn to SA’s economy, an industry association warned on Monday.
“Obviously airlines would like to fly without restrictions as soon as possible. That will be viable and provide them with a greater chance of recovery,” Chris Zweigenthal, CEO of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa, told Business Day on Monday.
The airline industry, which counts eight players, is on the verge of collapse because of the Covid-19 crisis. Many of the airlines that have been grounded since the lockdown came into force at the end of March had enough cash in hand to survive for two months, meaning that by June they could be unable to meet their financial obligations.
Kulula operator Comair and national carrier SAA recently went into business rescue, while SA Express, a regional arm of SAA, tumbled into provisional liquidation after specialists hired to work out if it could be rescued said it had no prospect of survival. FlySafair is seeking state assistance.
On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said when the country moves from level 4 of the lockdown to level 3 on June 1, limited business travel will be phased in. Transport minister Fikile Mbalula is expected to provide more details in the coming days.
However, the airline industry, which is one of the sectors hardest hit by the lockdown with stringent travel restrictions, is pushing to be granted permission to operate at full capacity with strict health protocols in place.
But even if the airlines are allowed to operate at full capacity, they are unlikely to see a return to pre-crisis traffic levels before the start of 2021 at the earliest amid a global economic slump, according to global industry association the International Air Transport Association (Iata).
Zweigenthal said the industry was still in talks with the government and motivating why it should be given the green light to operate at full scale as soon as possible, to give airlines a chance to survive. He said the industry had tabled proposals in a bid to convince the government that airlines can operate at full capacity with strict health measures in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“Right now there is a lack of clarity on exactly what [President Cyril] Ramaphosa means, and we are not sure if there will be a definite start-up for the airlines. There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that airlines can recover and operate viably,” Zweigenthal said.
Meanwhile, Comair said it was working towards resuming operations in November.
“The goal of the business rescue process is to restructure Comair so it can take to the skies again as a sustainable business and play its part in the country’s airline industry and economic revival,” a company spokesperson said.
“As we have consistently said, we plan to begin scheduled operations again in November. Yesterday [Sunday] evening’s announcement, while encouraging, contained no detail as to when air travel may be permitted or to what extent. Until we have this information and are able to assess market conditions, we will continue to work towards a return to service in November.”
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