Airlines have come under pressure after the Brexit vote, with downbeat statements from both International Airlines Group and easyJet.
Now African budget airline Fastjet has revealed its own particular troubles, announcing it needed to raise new funds to provide essential working capital and make the necessary changes to its business. It hopes to complete the fund raising next month.
A year ago it raised £50m for expansion but with trading conditions challenging it has decided to review the size of its fleet and the routes it operates. Ahead of its annual meeting it said domestic routes within Tanzania were showing signs of recovery, but international services remained difficult. Passenger numbers in the first half have risen from 363,726 to 390,000 but the load factor - a measure of capacity utilisation - has fallen to 47% from 70% last year.
The company has been in dispute with easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who owns a 12.6%, and had expressed concerns it would run out of cash. Two of its executives left the business after Haji-Ioannou called for their dismissal.
Following the announcement Fastjet’s shares have slumped nearly 16% to 24.3p.
