Council will not oppose Comair's application in foreign ownership dispute

Comair says the Air Services Licensing Council will not oppose its application for an interdict against its suspension, to be heard on Tuesday. "Comair will take its dispute with the ASLC regarding the company's alleged noncompliance with foreign shareholding requirements of the Air Services Licensing Act on review as Comair remains confident that it is compliant with the Act," the company's statement to shareholders said.

Bob Adams via Wikimedia Commons

Comair advised shareholders on May 10 - a day before it faced having its licence to operate airlines kulula.com and the domestic service of British Airways suspended - that it had "taken the precaution of launching an urgent application to interdict the ASLC from suspending the company's domestic license, pending the outcome of a review by a court of law."

The urgent application was granted, and Monday's statement means Comair will not be suspended before a court reviews the council's decision to suspend Comair.

Allegations that Comair's foreign ownership breached the government's 25% ceiling were lodged by competitor Safair in 2013, when the JSE-listed airline repurchased 6.1% of its shares from Atul Gupta, thereby increasing the slices owned by British Airways and other foreign investors.

Source: BDpro