Skywise, the low-cost carrier that has been struggling to launch operations for over a year now, says, despite a recent major setback, it is still set on launching domestic services.

The Air Services Licensing Council cancelled Skywise’s air service licence – which was issued in March last year – because it is only valid for a year and the airline had failed to begin operating within the required time.

Andries Ntjane, ASLC Deputy Director: Licensing and Permits, said Skywise applied for an extension, but the Air Services Licensing Council declined this.

Rodney James, CEO of Skywise, said: “It’s obviously a big blow to Skywise but we are looking at our options. We’re not going to roll over and go away, not just yet.”

He said the ASLC cancelled Skywise’s licence despite its “very reasonable request for a short extension.”

Skywise is still in the process of obtaining an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the South African Civil Aviation Authority. Phindiwe Gwebu, Spokesperson for SACAA, said Skywise still had a number of requirements to meet for the five-phase process of obtaining an AOC.

“Unfortunately I can’t comment on our next move as we’re waiting for a legal opinion and we’re considering a plan B, which we’ve been working on for a couple of months,” James says.

Ntjane told Tourism Update Skywise would have to start from scratch and reapply for the licence, which also meant there was once again an opportunity for competitors to object to their plans of launching a new service. When it initially applied for a licence in October 2012, the Council received objections from ex-1time employees.