Thai Airways may file for bankruptcy as the pandemic severely halts both domestic and international air travel in the country.
Initial plans to rescue the 60 year old company via a 58.1 billion baht (US$1.81 billion) loan may not be happening, as the Thai government may decide to place the airline into bankruptcy as an option to enable its rehabilitation.
“The State-Enterprise Planning Office agreed in principle for the rehabilitation of Thai Airways in court … the procedure will be submitted to cabinet tomorrow,” government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat mentioned.
Thai Airways had been poorly performing even before the pandemic, booking losses every year since 2012 (except for 2016).
In 2019, the airline reported a loss of 12.04 billion baht (US$374 million).
The restructuring of Thai Aways under the government rehabilitation plan will involve cutting down the size of its fleet, resulting in imminent job losses.
Thai Airways shares fell 12% today, and are down about 38% in 2020.