Seychelles’ designated minister, Jean-Francois Ferrari, will lead a committee formed to hold talks with the creditors of Air Seychelles, who have filed a petition against the airline, officials said after a high-level meeting Friday.
President Wavel Ramkalawan chaired a meeting with Minister of Transport Anthony Derjacques and the Air Seychelles’ board of directors at State House to discuss the issue.
A petition was filed by the Apex Trustees Bondholders on August 19 for the winding up of Air Seychelles to recuperate investment made in the airline. The representative of the bondholders said the petition was filed because to date, there has been no substantive engagement, nor any sense of urgency, concerning the airline’s situation, from either Air Seychelles or its sole shareholder, the government of Seychelles.
Air Seychelles is due to appear before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on September 6.
After Friday’s meeting, Derjacques reassured the public that the government will do the necessary to support Air Seychelles in this court case.
“We hope that we can bring a positive result and that we can move forward with the airline,” said Derjacques, who added that the employee’s security in employment is extremely important for Air Seychelles to continue as a commercially viable airline.
He said that all services at the airport will continue and will not be interrupted.
President Ramkalawan said that all local partners involved with the company needed to be on the same page and the meeting was being held in order to converse on the way forward before the company appears before the chief justice.
On her side, the chairman of the board of Air Seychelles, Veronique Laporte, said they are pleased with the decisions taken during the meeting.
“I would like to thank the management of staff of Air Seychelles, for their understanding and commitment during these uncertain times,” said Laporte.
“We have seen their determination and hard work since the new board took over and would like to continue, without being side-tracked by anything, as we continue to work towards our restructuring plans to make Air Seychelles sustainable,” she added.
The meeting was also attended by members of the Air Seychelles board of directors; Finance Minister Naadir Hassan and Ferrari, the designated minister.
Source: Seychelles News Agency