Mango airline offers new chance for passengers to claim R140m in unflown tickets

The business rescue practitioner of grounded state-owned low-cost airline Mango is set to offer its long-suffering passengers with unflown tickets another opportunity to claim. The business rescue practitioner (BRP) of troubled state-owned low-cost airline Mango has promised to reopen the window for passengers owed about R140 million to claim theirunflown ticketsthis month. BRP Sipho Sono, a chartered accountant, has updated concerned passengers about the status of the tickets they booked before the airline crashed at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, leaving thousands stranded.

In his latest update, Sono said he met with the domestic Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) last month to discuss queries from Standard Bank, which holds the R80m guarantee issued on behalf of the airline, and has been instructed to release the funds to Mango’s estate and ring-fenced for customers’ benefit. Sono said the ASLC thereafter resolved to respond to the bank and in the same correspondence will also instruct the bank to address any further queries relating to the customer guarantee directly to him in the hope that any such further queries can be resolved without delay. He added that he was currently awaiting a signed copy of the ASLC’s letter to Standard Bank.

Sono undertook that customers who missed the earlier opportunity to verify their unflown tickets or unused vouchers will have another opportunity to do so. “In light of the expected funds to be made available from the customer guarantee to settle customer claims, the BRP plans to re-open the customer ticket verification portal during the month of June 2026,” he assured passengers. According to the Mango’s amended business rescue plan, the unflown ticket liability was R169m at the commencement date of theattempt to save Mango. The BRP rolled out a customer ticket verification process that was initiated in June last year to enable customers to verify their unflown tickets or unused vouchers due to the suspension of the airline’s operations.