Grounding Comair to hurt SA, says chamber
The Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned about the harm that could be caused to SA if Comair is grounded.
|||Johannesburg - The Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned about the harm that could be caused to the tourism industry if Comair is grounded.
In a statement issued on Thursday, its members say the potential grounding by the Air Services Licensing Council of the British Airways brand in SA over a shareholding issue, would damage SA’s image.
“Has any thought been given to the consequential damage to South Africa’s image overseas through the international media and the serious disruptions in travel plans for local and international business and leisure travellers?”
It argues SA does not have the surplus air capacity to replace the Comair fleet and the ensuing damage to the Comair brand and South Africa’s image will be considerable. As a result, it is appealing to the council to find other ways of resolving this dispute.
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“It is vital that we protect our tourism industry, already hit by the 2015 visa issues and the potential loss resulting from the banning of international events in certain sporting codes.
“Although tourism figures may appear to be reasonable, we believe they should be much higher.
“We must not inconvenience our international visitors or disrupt South Africans’ travel arrangements.”
On Tuesday, the airline launched an urgent application to stop the council from grounding it pending a review by a court of law over FlySAfair's three-year long complaint against the airline's foreign shareholding.
FlySAfair alleged Comair had breached its air license by failing to apply for a license amendment after undertaking a share repurchase programme.
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A second complaint was that when a “look through” construction was applied to the Comair's current foreign shareholding component, the amount of its shareholding slightly exceeded the restrictions specified in the Air Services Licensing Act.
Licensing requirements limit the foreign shareholding and voting right in domestic airlines to 25 percent.
Bidvest's BB Investment Company is listed as Comair's largest shareholder with a 26.91 percent stake, followed by Allan Gray with 12.9 percent and Britair with 11.5 percent.
In March, Comair was given until 11 May to comply with the conditions of its Air Services License, without which no airline is permitted to operate a commercial air service.
IOL