The decision throws efforts to rescue SAA into greater disarray after the administrators said the airline had run out of cash and the minister responsible for SAA criticised their efforts to rescue the company.
State-owned SAA has been fighting for its survival since entering a form of bankruptcy protection in December, with its fortunes deteriorating further when the coronavirus pandemic forced it to halt all commercial passenger flights and the government said it would not provide further funding.
The administrators have until the end of the month to draft a rescue plan for SAA but have told creditors that a wind-down or liquidation are likely outcomes.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday that the government wanted to avoid SAA being liquidated and preferred to see it restructured into a new airline.


SAA has not made a profit since 2011 and has received bailouts worth more than 20 billion rand ($1.1 billion) over the past three years, a major drain on public resources alongside struggling state utility Eskom at a time of weak economic growth.

The airline said on Friday that it would continue repatriation flights “during the month of May and beyond” and that it was in talks with officials on places where South Africans might be stranded abroad