Comair to argue that regulators cannot suspend its licence

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The operator of kulula.com and British Airways' South African domestic flights said it had taken the precaution of launching an urgent application to interdict the Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) from suspending its domestic licence Wednesday, pending the outcome of a review by a court of law.

Comair is 11.5% owned by British Airways via Brit Air, according to its 2015 annual report. Its largest shareholder is Bidvest, which owns 27% via BB Investments, followed by Allan Gray, which owns 12.9%.

Two years ago, FlySafair lodged a complaint with the licensing council, claiming Comair's foreign ownership was higher than allowed by South African law. Comair said it made a detailed submission to the council arguing this was not true, but before the council made a decision, the terms of its members expired.

It then restarted this process with the council's new members. Although FlySafair dropped its complaint last year, the new members of the licensing council continued with the case.

Comair said in Tuesday's statement its "view and that of its external legal advisers is that the ASLC has not commenced suspension proceedings in accordance with the act".

"The company stresses that the disagreement with the ASLC does not relate to the safety of the company's operations.

"The disagreement with the ASLC relates exclusively to a shareholder regulatory issue," Tuesday's statement said.

Source: BDpro