Numsa calls for Comair’s suspended licence to be reinstated

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has called on the International Air Service Council (IASC) to reverse its decision to suspend Comair’s operating licence.

The trade union said it has written a letter to the IASC raising concerns about its decision to ground the airline on a number of issues.

Suspension

Comair’s wings were clipped for good earlier this year after the airline operator’s business rescue practitioners (BRP) cited a lack of funding.

Numsa said IASC should reconsider the suspension of Comair.

“What is concerning us is that it seems the suspension of the services licence is based on the fact that the IASC says they were not informed by the business rescue practitioners that Comair was no longer in business rescue, but had been placed under provisional liquidation on June 28.”

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“The Council found out officially that Comair was under provisional liquidation at the meeting the liquidators had with them on the 6th of October. The liquidators informed the Council of their intention to sell the airline as a going concern, despite it having been placed under provisional liquidation,” Numsa said.

Comair’s future

Numsa said the decision to suspend the licence has placed Comair’s future at “great risk”.

“It is unlikely that a buyer will purchase the airline when it does not have this licence. We are calling on the IASC to recognise that this issue will have a direct impact on 1 500 workers at Comair and their families who will suddenly find themselves drowning in a sea of unemployment, because the airline was liquidated as a result of is failure to secure a buyer in time.”

“Should these jobs be lost as a result of this decision, it will be partly be because of this decision,” Numsa said.

Save jobs

Numsa added that it has sent an email to Andries Ntjane the Deputy Director of the IASC requesting to join the meeting which has been scheduled with the liquidators for the 1st of November to discuss the future of Comair.

“Numsa wants to make submissions, because we want to save the airline, make it sustainable for the long term and save jobs,” the unions said.

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