German citizens stuck in South Africa during the lockdown will finally be able to make their way home on Friday. South African Airways (SAA) has struck an agreement with the government to provide chartered repatriation services to various international destinations. According to a statement by the joint SAA business rescue practitioners (BRPs) on Thursday, the first flights will take German citizens from Johannesburg to Munich and from Cape Town to Frankfurt. The BRPs are negotiating with other governments about the repatriation of their citizens. "The national lockdown happened with short notice and consequently, many foreign passengers, including tourists, workers and students, were unable to amend their travel plans to return to their homes, before the effective date of 26 March 2020. Subsequent to the announcement and the start of the lockdown, representatives of several governments have engaged with the joint BRPs of SAA to consider having SAA provide the safe passage of their citizens to their respective home countries," the statement said.<br/>
star
The size of the German government bailout for Lufthansa depends on whether or not the airline will be forced to pay billions of euros in refunds to customers. Lufthansa had about E4b in unused ticket money at the end of December, according to the company’s annual report. If the EU enforces rules that the company has to issue refunds to passengers who demand them, that would wipe out much of the airline’s remaining liquidity, increasing the size of the government’s intervention. Analysts at Credit Suisse on March 23 estimated that Lufthansa has about E5.1b in cash and undrawn credit facilities, a sum that would run out in about 25 days if the company had to refund all its tickets. The government, faced with potentially hundreds of billions of euros in bailouts and assistance to virus-hit companies, on Thursday asked the EC that airlines like Lufthansa be able to issue vouchers. Brussels officials have so far insisted that existing rules be upheld and airlines forced to refund customers that don’t want vouchers for rebooking. Forced refunds “threaten to bankrupt companies,” Germany’s government wrote in an appeal to the EC. A spokesman for the commission said the body was looking into the request, but wouldn’t say when any amendments might be made.<br/>
The management of SIA Engineering Company is taking deeper pay cuts than previously announced, while its directors have also volunteered a larger reduction in fees as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to ground flights. "In view of the massive flight cuts by airline customers and the increasingly difficult business environment, SIAEC is stepping up its measures to mitigate the severe impact," said the company, which provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services, in a bourse filing on Thursday. Starting from April 1, the pay cuts have about doubled to 25% for the CEO from 12% previously, and to 20% for the executive VP from 10%. Meanwhile, the SIAEC board has volunteered to slash their fees further, compared with the 12% reduction announced last month. The directors are now taking a 25% xcut to their fees accruing with effect from April 1.<br/>
EgyptAir operated on Thursday an exceptional flight to Heathrow Airport to bring back the Egyptian nationals stranded in London, the company said. On March 31, the company operated another exceptional flight to bring back the Egyptians who wished to leave London. The company operated a number of exceptional flights to bring Egyptian nationals back home after Egypt suspended the international aviation on March 19 until April 14, 2020, amid the state’s protective measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak. All arrivals from abroad will be quarantined for 14-28 days, according to the latest measures announced by the Cabinet. <br/>