South African Airways' board has voted to put the carrier into a "business rescue" bankruptcy protection program to save it from collapse. As part of the process, South African Airways lenders will provide 2 billion rand—$136.5 million—in government-guaranteed financing to allow the airline to continue operations, and the South African government will provide an additional 2 billion rand. The carrier has not turned a profit in nearly a decade and has had bailouts of more than 20 billion rand in the past three years; its finances took a further hit during an eight-day strike in November that resulted in hundreds of canceled flights, according to Reuters. South African Airways EVP of North America Todd Neuman in an email said that the carrier "intends to operate a normal flight schedule under business rescue, and any changes will be communicated … as soon as possible." Neuman said that low-cost carrier Mango Airlines, South African Express and Airlink are not affected and will continue to operate as usual.