Johannesburg, South Africa: South African Airways on verge of bankruptcy, fears shutdown

South Africa is going to place its state-owned flag carrier, South African Airlines into a local form of bankruptcy protection in a last-ditch effort to avert a full collapse. The airline has incurred huge losses and has availed state bailouts as well in last 10 years. The airline will now work on a bankruptcy alternative to avoid closure. The airline is the first South African state company to enter business rescue since the end of the apartheid in 1994.

The South African Airlines, which also owns Mango, a budget carrier, and has stakes in local airlines of South Africa, has struggled to compete internationally with resurgent African state-owned rivals. It has been unable to release financial results for the past two years.