Additional time granted to Air Belgium to reorganise

The judicial reorganisation in which Air Belgium has been engaged since late September is being extended for a second time. The airline announced this on Tuesday to the Belgian press agency Belga.

In mid-September, Air Belgium announced that it would cease passenger flights (to South Africa and Mauritius) at the beginning of October because they were “chronically unprofitable.” The company would focus on cargo activities and aircraft leasing.

To get its debt under control, the company, headquartered in Mont-Saint-Guibert in Walloon Brabant, has been undergoing a judicial reorganisation procedure since late September. Although agreements had already been reached “with the majority of potential creditors” in January, the procedure was extended until May 13.

However, even this additional time is not sufficient to conclude the negotiations satisfactorily. “In April 2024, it became apparent that extra time would be needed,” says Air Belgium. Therefore, the Walloon Brabant Commercial Court approved a new extension until August 20.

Negotiations with Creditors

“Air Belgium continues negotiations with the remaining creditors to reach an agreement and finalize the reorganisation of its activities, including replacing aircraft with budget-friendly variants, implementing a new economic model, reducing overall costs, partially redeploying employees to new activities within the company, and renegotiating commercial contracts,” the Air Belgium statement reads. “These actions are essential to conclude the procedure under the best conditions and achieve our main goal: namely, compensating every passenger.”

Approximately 11,000 passengers were affected by the cessation of passenger flights, and some of them will have to wait a little longer for compensation. According to Air Belgium’s website, tickets purchased with credit cards have already been refunded or are in progress. “Refunds for unused tickets and services booked with payment methods other than credit cards are expected to be processed at the end of the judicial procedure,” it states.