Today's Labour News

Fin24 reports that Comair, which operates Kulula and regional flights for British Airways, was placed in provisional liquidation by the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday due to the airline not being able to meet its financial obligations.

Comair is not able to pay aircraft storage, maintenance and insurance costs anymore. According to the company's business rescue practitioners (BRPs), the liquidation is necessary for Comair to preserve its fleet of aircraft, valued at about R3.5 billion, for the benefit of creditors. "We are of the view that there is no longer a reasonable prospect of rescuing Comair so (are) asking to discontinue business rescue and place it in liquidation. There is no longer a fair or moderate possibility of substantially implementing Comair's approved business rescue plan," BRP Richard Ferguson stated in court documents. All affected parties have until 26 July to provide the court with reasons why the provisional liquidation order should not be made a final order. The company employs about 2,000 people. It decided to go into business rescue in May 2020 and its business rescue plan, adopted in September 2020, anticipated that about 1,800 jobs would be preserved if Comair could be returned to sustainability. Trade union Solidarity said on Tuesday that it was sad about Comair going into provisional liquidation and that it was attempting to facilitate its members into work by engaging with local and international employers regarding possible recruitment opportunities.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carin Smith at Fin24
• Read too, Comair flies into liquidation with assets of R3.5bn and liabilities of R4bn, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

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