The South African low-cost airline Mango Airlines is going to go into bankruptcy protection proceedings. The South African boss Thomas Kgokolo announced on Monday. It cannot be ruled out that there may be delays in the payment of wages.

The board of directors and the shareholders of the SAA subsidiary had previously received their approval for filing for bankruptcy protection. In an interview with Ecna-TV, the manager said, among other things, that it is seen as the only way to reorganize the company. It is still unclear how much money Mango Airlines will get from the state aid. It was only a few weeks ago that flight operations were about to cease, but this step was averted after intensive negotiations with the lessors.

Reports from local media give the impression that the timing of the filing of the bankruptcy protection proceedings may have taken Mango Airlines' board of directors by surprise. The communication between the parent company and the subsidiary was evidently poorly coordinated. In any case, an urgent application is to be submitted to the court shortly.

The unions reacted accordingly and publicly stated that Mango Airlines would be in the chalk among employees with up to six monthly salaries. This is arithmetic because only a fraction of the claims have been paid out for a long time. The employee representatives are criticizing the responsible ministry because, contrary to the promise, Mango and other SAA subsidiaries have so far not been provided with fresh money or not sufficiently.

South African Airways does not currently have an operating license. Company boss Kgokolo expects that this will be granted again on July 30, 2021. In August the plan is to initially operate pure cargo flights. The resumption of passenger traffic is still completely open. The restart should take place with a maximum of eight aircraft, whereby the SAA managing director did not specify the types. For the time being, passengers will continue to be carried by Mango Airlines.