South African Airways (SAA) has indicated that flights and operations will only resume in May. Domestic and regional flights are currently suspended until 30 April.
SAA has been grounded for at least a year now amid financial crises and business rescue processes.
The business rescue practitioners need to settle outstanding debts and disputes with almost 400 pilots.
According to the Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, three equity partners have been identified as viable candidates to resuscitate SAA, which could see it re-emerge as a new airline in the next month or so.
More than 3 200 employees are yet to receive their long-awaited pay-outs since their acceptance of voluntary severance packages, reports Business Insider.
Some experts say that unless airlines can either wholly or partially convert planes to carry cargo, airlines will fail as overseas travel alone will not be sufficient to keep airlines afloat. Some large planes can remove seats for the purpose; others cannot.