The board of South African Express Airways‚ with concurrence from Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan‚ has appointed Siza Mzimela as the new acting CEO of the airline.

The current acting CEO‚ Matsietsi Mokholo‚ will be taking up a new position in the Presidency.

Mokholo will hand over to Mzimela over the next two weeks.

Mzimela is a former CEO of South African Airways (SAA) and has more than 20 years’ aviation experience.

The ministry of public enterprises and the board of SA Express said Mzimela had been part of the ministerial intervention team that was appointed in May to stabilise the airline’s operations‚ its finances‚ and to identify options to recapitalise the airline given its immediate short-term liquidity problems.

The board thanked Mokholo for her hard work as part of the intervention team that ensured that the airline was ready to commence commercial operations after the Civil Aviation Authority suspended its Air Operators Certificates and its Certificates of Airworthiness in May this year.