udget airline Jetlink Express has grounded all its planes after running out of money to run operations. The airline blames inability to access about $2 million of its revenue from ticket sales held in bank accounts in South Sudan. "The board of directors of Jetlink Express regrets to announce the immediate suspension of all scheduled flights with effect from November 16, 2012, a statement signed by the firms managing director Elly Aluvale read in part.
The management said it would send its 350 employees on leave pending resolution of the crisis. Passengers who had made prior bookings were notified of the flight cancellations.
We are a small airline and without that kind of money we cannot continue to operate. We will, therefore, remain closed until the government intervenes, Mr Aluvale told the Daily Nation on phone.
South Sudan is currently facing a severe foreign-exchange shortage after it stopped exporting oil its largest forex earner following a spat with Sudan over oil-transit fees. The World Bank had projected that the countrys dollar reserves would run out by August.
The ten-month dollar crunch in South Sudan is having a toll on Kenyan companies operating in Africas newest nation. South Sudan is hoping that the recently-arrived-at deal with the North will allow oil to start flowing again, ending the dollar crunch.
The management said it would send its 350 employees on leave pending resolution of the crisis. Passengers who had made prior bookings were notified of the flight cancellations.
We are a small airline and without that kind of money we cannot continue to operate. We will, therefore, remain closed until the government intervenes, Mr Aluvale told the Daily Nation on phone.
South Sudan is currently facing a severe foreign-exchange shortage after it stopped exporting oil its largest forex earner following a spat with Sudan over oil-transit fees. The World Bank had projected that the countrys dollar reserves would run out by August.
The ten-month dollar crunch in South Sudan is having a toll on Kenyan companies operating in Africas newest nation. South Sudan is hoping that the recently-arrived-at deal with the North will allow oil to start flowing again, ending the dollar crunch.