State considering establishing Air Slovenia
The Slovenian government is looking into setting up a new national carrier entitled Air Slovenia in the wake of Adria Airways’ collapse. According to local media, the plan has been proposed by the Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, who anticipates for the new national airline to launch operations towards the end of February 2020 with a fleet of ten to twelve aircraft and a route network comprising of fifteen destinations. Mr Počivalšek previously said any new national carrier should be established only in partnership with Germany’s Lufthansa. Last week, the Slovenian Prime Minister, Marjan Šarec, said, “The Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the competent ministries are preparing for the coming period, either by setting up a new company or by providing connectivity through other carriers”.
The Slovenian government passed legislation yesterday to allow the state to subsidise key air routes. Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek said she could not speculate which destinations would be subsidised but added all airlines would have the ability to apply for them. “We want Ljubljana to be connected to Europe and the world with as many airlines as possible”, Ms Bratušek told a news conference after the government session. The proposed legislation will need to be confirmed by parliament in the coming months. It is believed Mr Počivalšek is in favour for the proposed new national carrier to apply for the state subsidies.
Meanwhile, the Kranj District Court launched bankruptcy proceedings for Adria Airways yesterday, after the German-owned carrier filed for receivership on Monday. During the process, creditors will have three months to file their claims. Passengers who had bought tickets for Adria flights have been urged to report their claims as well. Receivership proceedings have also been opened for Adria's wholly-owned subsidiary Adria Airways Flight School, which used to train the airline’s pilots. Adria's flight school was set up in 1980 in cooperation with the Ljubljana Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Initially, it was planned for the school to train only future Adria pilots, but later opened up to others as well. It has trained over 2.800 pilots.
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