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South Africa’s fractured airspace is set for more upheaval as dominant operators — Airlink and Global Airways Operations — which co-own the domestic airline, Lift, square off with Safair Operations, the owner of FlySafair, over alleged 74 percent foreign ownership.
The knife fight, set for April 11, emanates from Airlink and Global Airways’ complaints that Safair is largely owned by foreign shareholders, against the conditions of its aviation licence and the country’s laws.
The central complaint is that foreign investors and shareholders predominantly own Safair, thus breaching the Air Services Licencing Act and the International Air Services Act.
The former requires that holders of aviation licences in South Africa have a minimum of 75 percent local shareholding, and the latter that airlines based in the country and flying overseas have a “substantial” local shareholding.
The airline industry has interpreted this to be a minimum of 51 percent.
Industry insiders said Safair’s foreign holding was pegged at 74 percent.
In the aftermath of the collapse of the Takatso Consortium’s 51 percent takeover of national carrier South African Airway, the council’s resolution could necessitate restructuring of FlySafair to suit regulations, consequently altering the airspace as behind the scenes moves are made.
International Air Licensing Council chairperson Nomveliso Ntanjana confirmed it was perusing the papers filed by both sides for the hearing scheduled for early April.
Ntanjana said the council, which along with its domestic counterparts now administratively fell under the ambit of the South African Civil Aviation Authority would not divulge the merits of the case. — Business Report
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