GEORGE NEWS - After two years of ups and downs while in business rescue, Comair employees finally reached the end of the runway this week when the High Court in Johannesburg granted the airline operator's application for provisional liquidation on Tuesday 14 June.
This spells the end of South African airline Kulula, that for the past 20-odd years provided a touch of high flying, albeit accompanied by cheesy humour.
But it's no joke for the 1 200 jobless Comair employees, of whom 18 are based in George.
The local workforce handed in their Acsa permits and parking cards on Monday but were allowed to keep their uniforms, apparently as the liquidators had no use for these.
Comair has been under business rescue since 2020 due to its inability to honour its debts, but in spite of millions paid to the rescuers, Kulula's finances could not get off the ground and the iconic green planes finally skidded to a halt on 1 June.
Comair employee Thomas Duane Hodgson told George Herald he and his colleagues are very sad about the closure.
"Especially after four rounds of retrenchments in the past two years. It's nerve-wracking for staff. Some of our colleagues have young kids, so this is not an easy time. Especially in a volatile job environment."
A Kalula aircraft at the George Airport. 'Rudolph' will be missed!
He says even before the onset of Covid, employees endured tough times with many delayed flights.
"It made us resilient. There was also a dip in job security with the retrenchment rounds but we kept going - our passion was alive right to the end. All staff members made huge sacrifices to save Comair when it went into business rescue just two months after the onset of Covid. We went all-out as Comair was a solid company for more than 70 years. We will miss serving the George community and visitors to our region."
The liquidation has far-reaching consequences locally, as 24 Georgians in the employ of the ground handling services company, Nas, also face an uncertain future. Kulula was their only client at George Airport.
Objections to the liquidation must be in by 26 July.
Thomas Duane Hodgson and Karen Braun put on a brave face while sharing a coffee to end off their Comair careers of nine and seven years respectively. Hodgson has an honours degree in BCom Business Management and Braun is a qualified teacher. They share a love for aviation.
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