Decision day over Adria Airways bankruptcy
Adria Airways and the Slovenian Civil Aviation Agency will today discuss the best way forward over the carrier's future after it discontinued almost all operations. Following talks with the airline, the regulator will hold a press briefing at 14.30 CEST. The Agency previously noted it would revoke Adria’s Air Operator’s Certificate if it finds the company no longer has sufficient funds to maintain timely and safe operations. Tour operators and business partners have received messages that the carrier will file for bankruptcy shortly. Yesterday, the airline’s creditors began terminating their cooperation with Adria. Among them is aircraft lessor AeroCentury, which is repossessing a total of four jets from the carrier.
Foreign airlines have begun responding to developments taking place at Adria Airways with Air Serbia scheduling double daily flights between Belgrade and Ljubljana from the start of the 2019/2020 winter season, up from eleven weekly last winter, and Montenegro Airlines adding an additional weekly flight from Podgorica for a total of five weekly. The Serbian carrier has also launched rescue fares for passengers booked to fly with Adria and will add extra capacity on routes that were operated by the Slovenian airline. Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport has said it is ready for the demise of Slovenia’s national carrier and its biggest customer. "The situation is being monitored. Regardless of the outcome, it should be emphasized that air travel exists mainly because of market demand which speaks in favour of maintaining services that are commercially viable and potentially profitable", the airport said. It added that a strategy has been devised in case of Adria’s bankruptcy, which cannot be publicly disclosed at this time. “We are currently in talks, persuading and analysing the sustainability of new potential routes with fifteen new carriers. This is done on a daily basis and is a continuous and never-ending process", the airport noted.
Adria Airways is believed to have amassed debt of over sixty million euros since it was taken over by the Munich-based turnaround fund 4K Invest in 2016. The secretive fund has been blamed for much of the airline’s issues over the past three years. Adria, which has faced financial hardship on numerous occasions over its 58-year history, turned its first profit in 1997. Its busiest year was a decade earlier, in 1987, when it handled 1.740.000 passengers with an average cabin load factor of 80%. In its current state, the company leaves behind 558 employees. Despite calls for the state to bailout the beleaguered carrier, the government has said it would amount to “throwing away money” as the airline’s balance sheets are extremely poor.
This news item will be updated during the day.
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