While South African Airways faced what could be the most crippling strike in its history, the Sunday Times has reported that the airline’s chief executive Khaya Ngqula on Friday ”abandoned” his post to attend a ”junket” at a luxurious Mpumalanga hotel.
The paper said Ngqula, accompanied by his wife and former beauty queen Mbali Gasa, jetted out of Johannesburg on Friday afternoon aboard an SA Airlink aircraft.
SA Airlink is SAA’s feeder aircraft.
As SAA workers demonstrated at the airports across the country demanding a wage increase of eight percent with the company offering only five, Ngqula was reportedly at the luxury Southern Sun Malelane Hotel near the Kruger National Park’s Malelane gate.
SAA spokesperson Onkgopotse Tabane said Ngqula had gone to Nelspruit to attend an important function.
”The CEO was in Nelspruit where a corporate function was taking place. This was an FNB function which he had to attend as FNB is one of our biggest clients,” said Tabane.
He denied reports that Ngqula had abandoned his position amidst chaos at the airline saying that he had left ”a fully fledged team of capable” staff.
”We have not stopped working just because there is a strike. We have many people here doing many things,” Tabane said.
He said Ngqula did not necessarily have to be in Johannesburg in order to perform his duties.
”We are an international operation and operate everywhere in the country as well.”
By late evening on Saturday, the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) was still in negotiations with SAA discussing a way out the strike that has effectively grounded the airline.
SAA was forced to cancel all regional and international flights on Saturday when cabin crew failed to pitch up for work.
The airline appealed to passengers to postpone travelling with SAA until normal operations resumed.
The Sunday Times said Ngqula left Mpumalanga on Saturday morning
at 10am. – Sapa