Pilots and ground staff at Europe Airpost were on strike last month following news that France’s La Poste is to sell the mail, cargo and passenger airline. The strike caused delays to night post and, during the day, passenger transport.

La Poste director general Jean-Paul Bailly confirmed the pending sale of Europe Airpost. He said that La Poste had decided to sell the company and move the transport of mail to TGV high-speed trains under a plan to set up a joint subsidiary with national rail operator SNCF. Talks had opened with several potential buyers of the airline, Bailly said, although one had been selected for exclusive negotiations in the months to come. Les Echos reported that La Poste’s preferred buyer is the South African holding group, Imperial, owner of the leasing company Safair, which is already running two Airbus A300s for Europe Airpost’s cargo operations.