The regulatory authories have wisely granted FlySafair a grace period of 12 months to attend to the matter of their shareholding and controlling interests. At the same time we expect there to be considerable discussion regarding the definitions of shareholder in the licencing regulations.
This decision is logical and prevents a disruption of air services in the SA market. In the longer term we reiterate our view that local majority shareholding in airlines is not a necessity in the deregulated era. The main national economy benefits of air transport accrue from tourism, jobs, and connectivity. The trading profit of airlines is small in comparison to the broader benefits, and so the national economic interest is best served by increasing air transport activity. Whether this is by locally owned operators or not, is of less importance.
Simultaneous to this saga, FlySafair competitors have continued to publicly aim negative criticism at FlySafair regarding both their overbooking practices, and more recently their safety event reporting. It would seem that this trend to undermine a dominant carrier is increasing, and is to be expected.
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