Life-line given to stranded passengers

Life-line given to stranded passengers

Zambian Airways has become the latest airline to offer a lifeline to passengers stranded by the collapse of Nationwide. The Lusaka-based carrier said it would charge affected passengers just R1-000 for a return flight on the Johannesburg-Livingstone route. This, provided they could produce proof of their Nationwide booking and subject to seat availability.

South African carriers announced yesterday that they would put on extra flights to accommodate the extra capacity as a result of Nationwide's demise. Mango said it would “endeavour to assist stranded domestic passengers wherever possible with preferential fares” at its guest services counters in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

Nationwide operated international flights to London and Zambia, and domestic flights to and from Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, George, Mpumalanga and Johannesburg. Nationwide's closure came as an “unwelcome surprise,” said its chief executive officer Nico Bezuidenhout.

In a statement today, Zambian Airways which introduced an international route between Johannesburg and Livingstone on Friday said its offer would be valid until May 15.

Nationwide was placed under provisional liquidation yesterday. The liquidator will be registering all creditors including passengers and has indicated that its telephones will be open all weekend for this purpose.

Meanwhile trade union Solidarity says its instructed its legal team to become involved in Nationwide's liquidation process on behalf of its members. Spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans says the trade union plans to ask the liquidator to investigate whether there was gross negligence in the management of the airline.

But Kleynhans says it's not optimistic that a buyer will be found. He says the fact that Nationwide applied for liquidation indicates that there is no longer much of a chance that an investor will come forward. - Additional reporting by Sapa