SAA reacts to warning from air services licensing regulator

South African Airways has confirmed it has been cautioned by the country's air services regulator of possible legal transgressions but stressed these are administrative and do not impact its current or future operations. In a statement on August 12, SAA confirmed it had received a letter from the country's Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) citing "a few possible breaches" of the Air Services Licensing Act. The council required certain information from SAA to ascertain its compliance with the legislation. "SAA is currently studying the contents of the letter and will be responding fully to the ASLC within or before the timeframe provided by the council," the airline stated. "SAA assures its customers and the public that the matters raised in the letter are of an administrative nature, relating to the SEP (strategic equity partner) transaction that is currently being negotiated by the Government, as the shareholder, as well as issues relating to SAA's interaction with the ASLC, the submission of financial statements, and internal staff movement. The questions raised in the letter do not impact SAA's current and future operations as well as the quality of the services provided by SAA. To that end, both local and regional services are continuing uninterrupted," SAA said. According to the August 3 letter leaked to Fin24, the ASLC has given SAA 90 days to address four alleged breaches of the Act or risk losing its air service licences.<br/>