S.Africa's oldest private airline in liquidation after it fails to get funds

South Africa’s oldest private airline Comair will stop operations permanently after its bankruptcy protection lawyers on Thursday filed an application to liquidate the company which had failed to secure funding to stay airborne after being impacted severely by global pandemic-related travel restrictions. The end of the company, whose neon green aircraft under the low-cost kulula.com carrier had dotted tarmacs across the country’s airports, comes after two years of interventions by bankruptcy protection lawyers, investors and employees to save the 75-year old airline. “We did our utmost to secure the funding, but when we were unable to do so had no option to lodge the application,” Richard Ferguson, the company’s business rescue practitioner, a category of lawyer hired as administrators to save a company from liquidation, said in a statement. “It is an extremely sad day for the company, its employees, its customers and South African aviation.” Comair, along with the national carrier South African Airways, were the two hardest hit domestic airlines after the COVID-19 pandemic forced countries to seal international borders. Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the airline’s closure would have a negative impact on the sector. “We hope the grounding of Comair flights does not result in other airlines raising their prices,” she said. <br/>