The National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) and the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) intend asking the Constitutional Court to compel the National Assembly to debate whether state-owned regional airline SA Express (SAX) should be permitted to go insolvent, says a Fin24 report.

The unions contend that, in the absence of parliamentary oversight, a state-owned company cannot be finally liquidated by a court.

SAX was placed under provisional liquidation in April 2020 after its business rescue process failed.

In January this year, the return date to determine if SAX has to be placed in liquidation was again postponed – until yesterday when the matter was postponed to 28 July.

In an urgent letter, which formed part of the court documents presented yesterday, attorney Minnaar Niehaus, acting on behalf of Numsa and Sacca, asks for a further extension of the return date of the SAX liquidation application.

He argues that, while Numsa and Sacca's intended Constitutional Court case is pending, it would not be in the interests of justice for the High Court finally to liquidate SAX.

‘In the event that Numsa is successful in the Constitutional Court, the possibility will arise that the Ministers of Public Enterprises and Finance, respectively, who are presently not opposing the liquidation of SAX, might be persuaded to recapitalise SAX, alternatively to spearhead interactions with potential equity partners,’ states the letter.

Fly SAX has submitted a revised offer to acquire the business of SAX as a going concern subject to certain terms and conditions.

‘The philosophy behind the acquiring entity is to create a “people's airline” in which the public can invest and participate,’ states the letter.

Fly SAX, therefore, also asked for the court to postpone the case for three months so that its revised offer can be considered.

Full Fin24 report