Comair will not return to the air

Comair of South Africa is not returning to the skies. The company's business rescue practitioners have been unable to secure funds for the struggling airline, forcing it to apply for liquidation on 9 June 2022. On 31 May, Comair was already forced to suspend all flights due to lack of money to continue operating.

With the liquidation, an almost 80 year-old airline is set to disappear. Launched in 1943 as Commercial Air Services, it today operated flights under the low-cost Kulula-brand and as British Airways-franchisee, using a fleet of four B737-400s and sixteen B737-800s.

In total, Comair had almost 40% market share in South Africa, which means the collapse of the airline will leave a sizeable gap in the country's air services. Especially so as main competitor South African Airways is also still struggling financially and is running as a much smaller airline than before the pandemic.

Photo by Comair.