Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has been instructed by the Gauteng High Court to finalise the sale of South African Airways’ low-cost airline Mango within 30 days.
Wednesday’s ruling follows Gordhan’s delay in making a decision which was said by the court to be “irrational”. Furthermore, the court called Gordhan’s actions unlawful and unconstitutional. The sale has been delayed for almost a year.
Should Gordhan fail to meet the deadline, the sale will go ahead anyway.
Aviation analyst and editor of SA Flyer magazine, Guy Leitch, said it was difficult to run an airline as it was a complex business with very low margins and not what government had the capacity to undertake successfully.
“I do not know why anyone would even want to own Mango as it has been stripped of all its assets and essentials such as landing rights. It would make more sense to just start your own low-cost airline from the start,” he said.
