Adria remains grounded as debt reaches €90 million
Adria Airways has extended the suspension of most of its services until Monday afternoon. Germany’s WDL Aviation will operate a flight between Ljubljana and Frankfurt on Saturday and Sunday on behalf of the Slovenian carrier. Adria plans to resume a select number of services to Lufthansa group hubs on Monday as the airline continues to seek a solution to its financial problems. The carrier will operate one return flight each on Monday afternoon from Ljubljana to Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Brussels and Zurich, as well as a one-way flight from the Slovenian capital to Tirana. It is unclear whether these services will be run by Adria itself or a wet-lease partner. The airline has already cancelled a total of 355 flights since Tuesday, affecting some 13.700 passengers.
Adria has until midnight on Tuesday to submit a viable financial plan to the Slovenian Civil Aviation Agency to keep its operating licence. The country’s Prime Minister, Marjan Šarec, said the government was looking into ways to help the national carrier but added possibilities of assisting the firm were slim. "The owner is bad. Adria didn’t fall into the right hands and the management is acting recklessly. You cannot give money to those who cannot handle it. You can give them two million today and they won’t have it tomorrow. Throwing money at something while not knowing where it will end up and what will come of it is a bit risky. Things are not looking good”, Mr Šarec said.
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| Grounded Adria fleet at Ljubljana Airport |
Just prior to suspending services on Wednesday, Adria’s management sent out an ultimatum to the government to provide four million euros, warning it would otherwise file for bankruptcy. The Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) is now looking into Adria’s financial situation and whether the four million euros would be sufficient to save the company. BAMC has instructed the airline’s management to submit proof of alleged debt write-offs agreed with creditors. It is believed the firm would need at least 35 million euros just to resume most of its operations. Adria Airways has already recorded a net loss of over eighteen million euros so far this year, while its debt stands at over ninety million euros. Furthermore, half of the airline’s fleet has been repossessed since last Saturday.
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