The fate of low-cost airline Mango still hangs in the balance, with the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) wanting to do its own homework on a buyer before signing off on any deal proposed by the business rescue practitioner.
Mango, a subsidiary of state-owned South African Airways, was placed in voluntary business rescue in July 2021 and has not flown since. Rescue practitioner Sipho Sono wanted Mango to restart operations already on 2 December 2021, but the DPE said funding it got for the airline from monies allocated by Treasury to SAA, can only be used for Mango's restructuring and not to resume operations.
To restart, an investor had to be found.