Fastjet plc, the UK-based co-parent of Fastjet Zimbabwe (FN, Harare International), issued a trading update on March 12 saying it has engaged with its main creditors "who, following detailed discussions with management, have agreed to defer due dates for repayments and/or have agreed to settlement discounts to current carrying values."
Fastjet Group is in the process of divesting its shares in the Zimbabwean carrier to a consortium of investors led by Solenta Aviation Group and local Zimbabwean investors. It initially planned to complete the transaction by the end of March but now only expects all pre-conditions for the deal to be met by March 31 and the sale to complete in April. This could potentially create liquidity issues for the London-listed company considering it previously warned that it only "has sufficient resources to meet its operational needs until the end of March."
Fastjet plc's board of directors now believes that considering creditor concessions to revised terms, it will be able to retain sufficient funding until the end of June if revenues for its Zimbabwean units are not impacted by "unforeseen circumstances or significant reductions triggered by the Covid-19 virus."
Fastjet Zimbabwe is the only remaining Fastjet unit still actively operating flights. It currently uses two E145 regional jets to link Harare with Bulawayo and Victoria Falls domestically and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo internationally. The regional carrier also offers a daily link between Bulawayo and Johannesburg.
Fastjet (Dar es Salaam) in Tanzania ceased operations in 2018 after Fastjet plc's exit as a shareholder while Fastjet Mozambique (Maputo) shutdown last year.
