South Africa's public enterprises ministry said on Wednesday it was working with struggling state airline South African Airways (SAA) to ensure that it could continue to operate.
SAA suffered a crippling strike this month which pushed the airline to the brink of collapse.
"The strike at SAA with consequential cancellation of bookings has resulted in a sudden deterioration of SAA's financial position," the ministry said in a statement. "The Department of Public Enterprises is working together with SAA to urgently formulate immediate actions ... to enable SAA to carry on its business."