For thousands of South Africans who once held tickets with Mango Airlines, the wait for answers may finally be nearing its end. After years of uncertainty following the airline’s financial collapse, the company says it is now in the final stages of releasing funds that could allow passengers to receive long-awaited refunds.
Source: Business Day
According to travelnews.co.za, the money comes from a Passenger Protection Plan guarantee, a safeguard designed to help reimburse travellers when airlines fail to honour flights. If the process moves ahead as expected, the funds will be distributed to passengers who were left holding unused tickets when Mango stopped operating.
A long road since Mango grounded its flights
Mango, the low-cost carrier owned by South African Airways, suspended flights in July 2021 after severe financial problems pushed the airline into business rescue. Since then, many travellers have been left wondering whether the tickets they paid for would ever be honoured or refunded.
The latest development suggests that some progress is finally happening behind the scenes.
The airline’s Business Rescue Practitioner, Sipho Sono, confirmed that the process to access the Passenger Protection Plan funds is nearing completion. However, the release of the money requires approval from two regulatory bodies that legally control the guarantee. These are the Domestic Air Services Licensing Council and the International Air Services Council.
Regulatory approval unlocks the funds
Earlier this year, the Air Services Licensing Council indicated that it supports releasing the funds, provided certain conditions are met. A meeting was scheduled on 9 March to finalise confirmation of that approval.
Meanwhile, the International Air Services Council has already confirmed its support for the move. The council said it intends to formally call up the guarantee and instruct the bank to transfer the funds to Mango and its business rescue practitioner.
Once that happens, the process of reimbursing passengers can begin.
Why refunds will be smaller than expected
When Mango first entered business rescue, the estimated value of unused tickets stood at around R169 million. That figure suggested a massive pool of passengers potentially owed refunds.
However, when the official claims process closed in September 2023, only verified claims worth about R29.5 million had been submitted.
Because the airline is being wound down in a structured process, passengers will not receive the full value of their tickets. Current estimates suggest customers with valid claims may receive about 12.66 cents in the rand, which equals roughly 12.66 percent of the value of their original claim.
While the amount is far from a full refund, it represents the first concrete step toward compensation since the airline grounded its fleet.
A complicated ending for a once-popular airline
For many travellers, Mango was once the go-to budget airline for domestic routes between Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. Known for its bright orange planes and competitive fares, it quickly became a familiar sight in South African skies after launching in 2006.
The airline’s financial troubles and sudden grounding in 2021 left passengers, travel agents, and industry insiders scrambling for clarity. Since then, updates have been slow and often frustrating for customers who had already paid for flights that never took off.
Now, with regulators backing the release of the protection funds, there is renewed hope that at least part of those losses will finally be returned to travellers.
What passengers should expect next
Once the guarantee is officially triggered and the bank transfers the funds, Mango’s business rescue team will begin the process of distributing payments to verified claimants.
For affected travellers, it may not erase the frustration of the past few years. But it does signal that one of South Africa’s longest-running airline refund sagas could finally be nearing closure.
For many former passengers, even a partial payout is a sign that the long wait may soon be over.
Source: travelnews.co.za
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