African airline Comair, which has been operating British Airways and Kukula.com flights across Africa, announced it suspended all flights after failing to secure additional funding.
News regarding the flight suspension arose on May 31, 2022, after the ticket sales of British Airways and Kukula.com flights operated by Comair were suspended. Comair explained that it ran out of funds and failed to secure further investment.
“We deeply regret the inconvenience this suspension will cause our customers,” Comair chief executive Glenn Orsmond was cited in the airline’s statement. “We did everything we could to avoid it. Comair, the BRPs, and the lenders are working all out to get the funding in place so that we can resume our normal flight schedule as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, the airline’s business rescue practitioners have advised the company that the process to raise the necessary funding remains in progress, meaning that once received, Comair will be able to recommence flights.
“But regrettably under these circumstances, the practitioners have no choice but to voluntarily suspend all scheduled flights until the funding is confirmed,” Comair wrote.
The South Africa-based carrier, which is considered to serve around 40% of the South African market, stepped into voluntary business rescue proceedings [a form of bankruptcy protection – ed. note] amid the global COVID-19 pandemic on May 5, 2020.
Currently, the Comair fleet consists of 12 Boeing 737 family aircraft, operated as a British Airways franchise.
UPDATE 03-06-2022, 13:38 (UTC +3): Story corrected to clarify Comair’s market share.
