The holders of a majority of the creditors' voting interest of South African Airways have approved a request by three unions to extend the submission of a rescue plan for the airline until 15 June.

The unions have asked for the extension to have more time to submit their submissions to be considered for the plan.

The practitioners had intended to submit their long-awaited rescue plan for the debt-laden flag carrier on Monday for creditors, government as shareholder and unions to vote on.

According to a statement issued by the practitioners on Monday morning, lawyers represent the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, the South African Cabin Crew Association and the South African Airways Pilots Association - who collectively represent about 65% of SAA employees - wrote to object to the publication of the plan on June 8. They are asking for time to hold engagements in the Leadership Compact Forum created between the Department of Public Enterprises and unions to see how the airline can be saved, or a new airline created.

Captain Grant Back, chairperson of the South African Airways Pilots Association, says the draft rescue plan that was released last week by the practitioners for feedback was "lacking in substance and detail".

"The unions have been working with the shareholder to submit their input into the rescue plan. The current draft simply did not add up when analysed from an aviation expertise perspective. Labour and the Department of Public Enterprises have done a tremendous amount of work towards making SAA viable and fit for purpose and that, as yet, has not been incorporated into the draft proposal," says Back.

"In order for the plan to have the best opportunity to be accepted by the creditors, the majority of unions believe that more time is needed to stress-test the proposal and to give labour the opportunity to submit their data, improvements and amendments."

Creditors of SAA before it went into business rescue last December stand to lose as much as R11.4 billion if the current draft business rescue plan is implemented.

The draft business rescue proposal, which was leaked to the press last week, called for a further working capital injection of R2 billion to restart the airline after the coronavirus pandemic is over, R2 billion for retrenching about 48% of SAA's about 5 000 employees, and R600 million to be distributed to general concurrent creditors.

This is in addition to R16.4 billion already allocated to the secured creditors. A proposed offer to pre-commencement creditors of 5 cents in the rand would be payable over a three-year period. All unpaid amounts at the end of the three-year period will be converted into equity in SAA.

The practitioners said on Monday they thought it would not be appropriate to proceed with the publication of the business rescue plan without conveying the request for an extension by the unions representing a majority of the SAA employees.

"The practitioners have been consulting on the business rescue draft plan with various stakeholders and, to this end, have had meaningful engagements with the creditors' committee on various aspects of the draft plan that was distributed to the creditors' and employees' committees," the practitioners say in their statement.

"The employees' committee members decided that they would not want to consult on the draft plan in that forum but rather through the Leadership Compact Forum that was set up by the Department of Public Enterprises. This consultation has not yet occurred.

* This article was updated when the extension was approved at close of day on Monday.