The business rescue practitioners for struggling airline SA Express have written a letter to staff to say that salaries will not be paid on time for March.

SA Express is a state-owned, regional airline that operated domestic routes as well as flights to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and the DRC. It was placed under business rescue by order of the courts in early February.

The BRPs for the regional airline issued a letter to its employees on Tuesday, stating that “adverse operational challenges” and the impact of Covid-19 on passenger demand has affected the airline’s ability to generate “adequate” cash to fund “critical operational expenses”.

It said it would not be able to pay staff salaries as scheduled on March 25, and advised employees to contact their banks.

SA Express has confirmed the authenticity of the letter.

The practitioners said the airline has requested emergency funding from the Department of Public Enterprises to pay for “critical and immediate operational expenses” this includes staff salaries.

This comes after the airline last week announced it would suspend operations, which further “amplified” its liquidity crunch.