Slovenia's Adria Airways files for bankruptcy

Slovenia's former national airline, Adria Airways, announced on Monday that it had filed for receivership.

Adria, which was bought from Slovene state ownership by German investment fund 4K in 2016, released a statement saying: "Adria Airways on Monday filed at the court in Kranj a request to start a bankruptcy procedure," citing a "lack of liquidity."

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Slovenia's Civil Aviation Agency said Adria's licence had been revoked and that all of the airline's planes had been grounded.

The announcement comes just hours after Slovenia's Economy Minister Zdravko Pocivalsek said receivership was the only possible avenue for the company.

And the German owners, 4K, came in for some heavy criticism from Pocivalsek. The politician said that Adria's losses were higher than anticipated. He also said that Slovenia might set up a new national carrier in the wake of Adria's demise.

Economy hit but no bailout

Slovenia's economy and tourism industry is expected to take a hit but Pocivalsek said the government was unable to help as the company was privately owned, also saying that its levels of debt would prohibit such a move. 

"This would entail us taking over a high debt and enabling the owner to avoid any accountability," Pocivalsek said. "This would be irresponsible to the citizens and the budget."

Just last week, Slovenia's Civil Aviation Agency gave Adria seven days to present a financial restructuring plan.

Adria started cancelling flights because of its liquidity problems, with the decision affecting more than 10,000 passengers.

jsi/msh (AP, AFP)

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