According to a new Bloomberg report, UK-based pan-African carrier FastJet's planned acquisition of low-cost airline 1Time - which went into provisional liquidation in late 2012 - will be opposed by South African Airways (SAA).

As per the Bloomberg report, citing an emailed response to its queries by SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali, the state-controlled SAA intends opposing FastJet's 1Time acquisition on the basis of the legislation that airlines "operating domestically within South Africa are owned by companies with a minimum 75 percent South African shareholding."

The legislation which SAA will cite while objecting to FastJet's takeover of 1Time comprises the Air Services Licensing Act of 1990, which stipulates that a local licence holder must be three-quarters owned by South African residents.

However, after FastJet signed an option agreement towards the end of 2012 to acquire liquidated 1Time, an application was submitted by 1Time to Department of Transport's Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) division, seeking exemption from subsection 16(4)(c)(ii) of the mentioned Act, so as to facilitate FastJet in becoming the airline's majority shareholder.

Meanwhile, noting that Transport Minister Ben Martins was legally empowered to make the concession sought by 1Time, trade union Solidarity's spokesperson Marius Croucamp said: "The Minister of Transport can, by law, instruct the ASLC to make an exception and award a licence even if the airline's shareholders are not South African residents."