ABC News Net
Wed, Feb 27 2002 8:43 AM AEDT
. . . .Fears Ansett deal could collapse
There is confusion this morning about the future of Ansett.
A crucial part of the deal has been agreed to, but there are reports that the airline's prospective owners are having second thoughts about the purchase.
The Sydney Airports Corporation says it has formally agreed to give Tesna the Ansett Domestic Terminal lease at Sydney Airport.
The corporation says it has written to Ansett's administrators advising them of the news.
It has released a statement saying the corporation has negotiated a deal in good faith and delivered in time for the administrators and Tesna to complete the sale process on February 28.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says it is willing to issue Tesna with an air operators' certificate, provided crucial documents are handed over today.
CASA has given the consortium until midday AEDT to submit the documentation.
A spokesman for the authority says once that happens, CASA will be in a position to transfer the air operators' certificate from the administrators to Tesna by midnight Thursday, allowing the consortium to take to the skies on Friday.
However, newspaper reports this morning suggest Ansett's prospective new owners, Solomon Lew and Lindsay Fox, may be experiencing doubts about the deal, and that an overnight meeting between them and the administrators broke up without resolution.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Federal Transport Minister John Anderson says the Federal Government has done everything within its power to make the deal a reality.