Aviation Hundreds of passengers left stranded at airports as Mango suspends flights Debt-burdened low-cost carrier owes R57 million to state-owned air services company

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za STATE-OWNED low-cost carrier Mango Airlines yesterday temporarily suspended all flights because of outstanding payments of more than R57 million to another state-owned company, Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS). ATNS provides air traffic, navigation, training and associated services within a large part of the Southern Indian and Atlantic Ocean, comprising at least 10 percent of the world’s airspace. Mango’s grounding of its flights left hundreds of customers stranded at airports across the country, because it happened without warning. Mango said it would offer customers vouchers to help with alternative travel arrangements on other airlines. In a statement, Mango’s acting chief executive, William Ndlovu, apolo- gised for the inconvenience. “We plan to resume normal operations as soon as possible,” Ndlovu said. “We ask for calm and patience as…