South Africa’s government has expressed doubts as to whether the long-awaited business rescue plan for South African Airways will meet its expectations for creating a viable and sustainable national carrier. Publication of the plan has also drawn condemnation from the opposition Democratic Alliance party, which says the strategy relies on a R32.65 billion ($1.9 billion) bailout from the government. The government’s department of public enterprises points out that the rescue practitioners, who have overseen SAA’s management since early December last year, have been granted a “substantial” period of time and “significant” resources to restructure the airline. “We will assess the plan which, we are concerned, might have not been adequately accomplished,” it states. But the Democratic Alliance has dismissed the bailout as “ridiculous” and will urge finance minister Tito Mboweni to oppose it. It says the cash required over the next three years includes R16.4 billion for lenders, another R2.2 billion for personnel retrenchment, creditor payments of R2.3 billion, and R3.2 billion to address ticket claims. Mango Airlines, maintenance division SAA Technical, and catering operation Air Chefs account for another R2.1 billion. SAA trading losses will add a further R6.4 billion. The Democratic Alliance says it also plans to write to the competition regulator to request an investigation into the proposed bailout. “We are of the view that it violates the Competition Act, as the airline will get an unfair competitive advantage over the other South African airlines,” it adds. “Of the limited options left for SAA, another bailout must not be on the list.” It insists that liquidation of the carrier is the “only realistic option” rather than pouring further public funding into a “bankrupt black hole” that has “not contributed anything to our economy for 10 years”.

Source: Cirium

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined Panama-headquartered Copa Airlines $450,000 for “unlawfully transporting passengers” between the USA and Venezuela. A US order, imposed in May 2019, bars commercial air carriers from transporting passengers and cargo between the two countries. The rule was enacted due to “security concerns” and bolsters the USA’s simmering conflict with the socialist government of the South American country. Copa has permission to fly to several US airports under the condition that it does not offer any further connections to Venezuela. “An investigation by DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection found that for nearly a month following the issuance of DOT’s 2019 order, Copa sold more than 5,000 tickets for air travel between the United States and Venezuela and transported more than 15,000 passengers on these itineraries,” the DOT said on 17 June. The passengers travelled between 15 May and 11 June 2019. “By transporting passengers between the United States and Venezuela, Copa violated the conditions of its authority to operate and engaged in passenger operations to and from the United States without proper DOT authority,” it adds. The DOT’s filing says Copa responded that it had sold these tickets unwilfully, that it understood “the seriousness of the matter” and cooperated fully. The airline also said it has “taken considerable and substantive steps to avoid future violations”. Half of the fine is to be paid within 120 days, and the other half will become due immediately if Copa repeats the violation within one year. Prior to the 15 May 2019 order, the FAA had banned US carriers and pilots from flying below 26,000ft over the country. An emergency NOTAM stated that the ban would be in place until further notice “due to increasing political instability and tensions in Venezuela and the associated inadvertent risk to flight operations.” Copa Airlines suspended most of its operations after the government of Panama imposed restrictions on international flights due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Before the crisis, however, the airline operated flights to 13 cities in the United States, including New York, San Francisco, Orlando and Washington, DC.

Source: Cirium

The US Department of Transport (DOT) has backed down from an earlier ban on Chinese carriers, allowing them to fly up to four weekly flights between Mainland China and the USA. The move comes after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) eased international flight restrictions further on 8 June, allowing more carriers — including those from the USA — to operate flights into the country. A DOT notice on 15 June says it was notified that US carriers have been approved to fly four weekly flights to Mainland China, and will reciprocate by allowing Chinese airlines to fly four weekly flights between the two countries. “We welcome this action by the Chinese government, as an important first step to fully restore air travel,” it states. The DOT adds that it will “continue to press for the full restoration of passenger air travel between the United States and China, in part to allow for the repatriation of Chinese students who have been unable to fly home due to the shortage of flights”. The department first announced the ban — to have kicked in on 16 June — in retaliation for a Chinese order that US officials say effectively prohibits US airlines from resuming China flights. In May, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines applied to the CAAC for authority to resume numerous passenger flights between the countries, after suspending their routes due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, the CAAC denied their requests. China restricted the number of international flights into the country in March, in a bid to stem the number of imported coronavirus cases. Its order in March also prohibited carriers from adding more capacity than they had in schedules on 12 March – a date on which US airlines had no China flights.

Source: Cirium