Imminent closure of Comair to negatively affect SA tourism industry: Sisulu

Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says the imminent closure of Comair will have a negative impact on the tourism industry in South Africa.

Sisulu says she is concerned that the looming liquidation of Comair, which operates the Kulula.com and British Airways services, could have a dampening effect on the recovery of the tourism sector after a tough couple of years during the pandemic.

The Minister has expressed the hope that the grounding of Comair does not lead to other airlines raising prices.

Business rescue practitioners have lodged an application in court to convert the business rescue proceedings at Comair into liquidation proceedings. This followed the failure of attempts to raise cash to resume operations at Kulula.com and British Airways.

Publisher & Editor of the SA Flyer Magazine, Dr. Guy Leitch says the business rescue process failed because the company had already been stripped of its assets: 

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Comair says customers who were owed refunds after the airline halted operations at the end of last month will now become creditors.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa has concerns about the future of workers following meetings with Comair management.