Belgrade Airport marks 55th anniversary

GLOBAL AVIATION NEWS

SAA sold

South Africa agreed to sell a majority stake in the country’s grounded national carrier to a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm, ridding the government of an entity that has long been a drain on state finances. A consortium comprised of Johannesburg-based Global Airways, which owns recently launched domestic airline Lift, and private-equity firm Harith General Partners will take a 51% shareholding in South African Airways (SAA), Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said. The government will retain a minority stake. The grouping named Takatso will invest as much as 3.5 billion rand ($258 million) over the next three years, Lift co-founder, Gidon Novick, and Harith Chief Executive Officer, Tshepo Mahloele, said in an interview. “Government will have no further financial obligations to the company, outside of the existing liabilities that they will settle”, Novick said. He added, “Route networks we are still working on, and it will be a phased roll-out based on demand re-emerging post Covid”. The sale of SAA comes about six weeks after the airline emerged from lengthy bankruptcy proceedings, having reduced its workforce by almost 80% and cut liabilities to about 2.6 billion rand. The next challenge is to resume international flights, though South Africa remains cut off from much of the world due to pandemic travel restrictions. A longer-term goal is to list the carrier on a stock exchange, Gordhan said. In the meantime, the government will retain special voting rights to ensure the airline remains in the country, among other national priorities. The deal represents a triumph of sorts for Gordhan, who has argued for the revival of SAA with the help of private investors while others were calling for it to be liquidated. While SAA is now “solvent and liquid,” business-rescue practitioners said when handing over the aircraft, subsidiaries including low cost arm Mango and maintenance firm SAA Technical remain under financial strain and are in the process of being recapitalized. The Department of Public Enterprises and the new consortium will together assess the future of the divisions as part of the due diliegence process, Gordhan said.
Source: Bloomberg

Belgrade Airport marks 55th anniversary

NEWS FLASH

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport has marked the 55th anniversary since opening the doors at its present site. To celebrate the occasion, the airport has set up a gallery in its Terminal 2 building comprising of 55 photos of famous personalities who have used the airport's services including Queen Elizabeth II, Neil Armstrong, David Rockefeller, Elizabeth Taylor and Kirk Douglas, to name a few. Speaking at a birthday ceremony, Belgrade Airport's General Manager, Saša Vlaisaveljvić, said, "Since its opening in 1962 up until today, the airport has constantly expanded and developed to grow into one of the most successful companies in the country. With almost 2.000 employees and five million passengers handled per year, I can say it is our goal and a realistic expectation to surpass the 5.5 million passenger mark this year".

Belgrade Airport under construction

National newspaper report on airport opening

Comments

Anonymous15:14
Da, 2000 zaposlenih SAMO STO 500+ RADI PREKO OMLADINSKIH ZADRUGA preko 2+ godine!!!
Al neka, bitno je da dolaze aktivisti SNS stranke I DA OFMAH DOBIJAJU UGOVOR NA 2 GODINE!!!

A vi omladinci moji, sta ce vama placen odmor, bolovanje, mogucnost za kredit, sta ce to za vas kad ste obicni smrtnici!!

#Omladinac4LifeAlČlanStrankeNIKAD
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Anonymous15:20
Congrats BEG! Wish you to continue writing history along with many more anniversaries!!!
@Anonimous 3:14PM Hejteri, jel vam nije dosadilo više?
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frishki13:13
Anon @7:20AM

Wow. I'm not from Serbia, but you do sound like a total prick.
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