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EXCLUSIVE: Skywise boss: Why are they killing airlines?

Cape Town - The question to ask in the South African airline industry is why 11 airlines have failed to make it, Skywise co-chair Tabassum Qadir told Fin24 on Wednesday.

This was after the low-cost airline was notified at 17:00 on Tuesday that its flights will be suspended due to outstanding payments. Skywise is 100% in private ownership and operate 40 flights per week between Johannesburg and Cape Town.

In a desperate attempt to make her voice heard, Qadir addressed an open letter to President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday.  

"I addressed my open letter to President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa because I felt I had no other option. I have tried every door and kept on trying every option. So what else must I do? I only asked for 48 hours extra. We were not accumulating debt anymore," Qadir told Fin24.

"How can they do this to us in December, the busiest time in the industry? Now was our time to make money and they notify us 17:00 last night to say we have been suspended. Before the deadline I sent a letter asking for an extension. I was doing an acquisition, which could have been completed at the time so I only asked for a little more time."

In her view one should look at the history of the airline industry in SA and ask the question why 11 airlines have failed.

"Why do they keep killing airlines? Every business takes six to eight months to break even. I have no institutional help. I cannot figure out what the reason can be for nobody wanting to help," said Qadir.

She is even looking to charter some flights at the moment, but there is nothing available due to December being such a busy month.

"I could have flown all these passengers at this peak December time. Now was our time to make money," she added.

In her open letter to the government she is appealing to the government to have some mercy on her passengers as Skywise was close to breaking even.

"We are only R4m in arrears with Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and R4m with ATNS. There was an agreement reached to pay the arrears in installments and two installments were duly paid. The third installment was due to be paid on December 1 for which we only asked for an extension of 48 hours, but it was rejected.

"The aviation industry is a catalyst to economic growth. People like us still take the challenge to reduce unemployment, grow the domestic aviation industry and the greater economy only to become a victim of financial stress when billions of rand is readily available to bail out the national carrier," said Qadir.
 
She said more than R65m of personal funds has been invested in Skywise and "four years of hard work have brought us so far to serve the needs of South African travellers and continue to offer them affordable air fares".

"We have 200 employees who will be jobless in a country with choking unemployment levels at above 20%. Surely, this is not what we expect from the government authorities," she said in the letter.

ACSA confirmed on Wednesday that Skywise has been suspended from operating at ACSA Airports with effect from December 2, due to unpaid airport charges for landing, take off, parking of aircrafts and related service charges.

ACSA said the suspension will be withdrawn as soon as Skywise has made appropriate payments in accordance with the relevant regulations.

FOLLOW LIVE: Skywise has cash flow crisis, but has a plan - boss

* Are you a passenger booked with Skywise, or are you working for the low cost carrier? Send us your thoughts and get published.

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