Mango finally placed in business rescue

Low-cost airline Mango has finally been placed into business rescue, with a high court judge yesterday backdating the process to 28 July, effectively immediately protecting it against claims from creditors.

Acting Judge Michael Antonie gave no reasons for his ruling, although he said in his order that he believed it prudent to settle the matter as soon as possible.

“We have in a sense achieved what we set out to do,” said Mango Pilots’ Association chair Jordan Butler. We are very proud of it. We believe that Mango would have been left to fail if we hadn’t applied such intense pressure on the process.

“Hopefully the money that was being withheld can be released for salaries for the staff. The spotlight is now firmly on government and how they manage this process.”

Butler said that the next step would be consulting trade union legal teams to ensure there is a substantial seat at the table for what one pilot referred to as “indentured labour” of Mango staff.

The court decision also made clear that the first refusal of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission to allow Mango to enter business rescue three months beyond what the Companies Act allows for, does not trump the needs of the state or its companies.

In his ruling, Antonie allowed for the five-day window to count only post the handing down of his ruling, but with Mango’s status already ordered as marked “in business rescue”.