The time has come for the government to "seriously consider" SAA's future as the airline has put South Africa's already "ailing economy under further distress," the DA said in a statement after SAA encountered another wave of strikes.
SAA lost over an estimated 50 million rands (about 3.4 million U.S. dollars) per day during the strikes.
The DA feared that taxpayers would be forced to pay the price for SAA's "dismal mismanagement" in the form of a bailout, said Ghaleb Cachalia, DA spokesperson on public enterprises.
"The DA is of the strong view that the airline must be placed under business rescue, in order to mitigate any further loss of revenue and to ensure that the entity is stabilized," Cachalia said.
Without business rescue, the only viable option would be the partial or full privatization of the national carrier, Cachalia added.
Cash-strapped SAA has relied on government bailouts for continued operation. Over the past 13 years, the flag carrier has incurred over 28 billion rands (about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars) in cumulative losses.
On Friday, the carrier reached an agreement with trade unions to end a seven-day strike, in exchange for a 5.9-percent pay rise for workers.
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