/ 11 October 2000

HEAVY DEBT GROUNDS AIRLINE

A TROUBLED east African regional airline, Alliance Air, has suspended its operations pending a shareholders meeting. Alliance Air, a joint venturen between Uganda, Tanzania and South African Airways, has in the recent past accumulated a $50m debt. It was established in 1994 under the African Joint Air Services (AJAS) agreement signed in Dar es Salaam. The airline has been flying to London, Dar es Salaam and Entebbe, Uganda. Chris Zwiegenthal, Alliance Air’s chief executive, said in a statement that the operations of the company were being suspended with immediate effect and that SAA will in the interim take care of passengers’ interests.- AFP