The rescue plan for SAA, which has not made a profit since 2011, has been repeatedly pushed back amid fierce wrangling over the airline’s future.

The government and unions have been pressing for SAA to be salvaged in some form, despite its longstanding frailties being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has pushed even once-profitable airlines into financial distress.

The administrators, appointed in December when SAA entered a local form of bankruptcy protection, asked creditors to approve a delay in the publication of the rescue plan until June 15.

Their latest request followed a letter from the attorneys of the NUMSA, SACCA and SAAPA unions objecting to the plan being published before unions held further talks with the government on the draft plan.

The administrators said they thought it would not “be appropriate to proceed with the publication of the business rescue plan without conveying the request of the unions that represent a majority of the SAA employees”.

A draft plan from late last month proposed a restructuring funded by more bailouts. It also suggested cutting the airline’s workforce and aircraft fleet roughly in half. (Reporting by Alexander Winning, editing by Louise Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)