Financial turmoil at Adria Airways after third aircraft returns to leasing company

Hard times for airlines and its employees these days, this time the Slovenian airline Adria Airways is in sight. Last Thursday, Irish leasing company Trident Aviation Leasing Service reclaimed back two Bombardier CRJ 900s (S5-AAU and S5-AAV) over unpaid invoices, forcing the airline to cancel several flights on Friday. Today, leasing company AeroCentury repossessed another Bombardier CRJ 900 (S5-AAL), flown to Maastricht Airport, Netherlands on 20 September.  

In a meeting with the management this afternoon, the 558 employees said they want to continue flying. Another meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow. It’s not yet known whether the company will go bankrupt on Tuesday or whether the management will make another move to resuscitate the airline.

Adria Airways’ management reportedly told employees this afternoon that the company would not survive without the necessary €4 million. The Slovenian government already publicly refused to bail out the airline. Adria said that discussions with potential strategic partners are ongoing and that developments can change rapidly.

On the repossession of the third aircraft, Adria explained that the reason for the return (and not the grounding) lies in the optimization of its current fleet in regards to its expected Winter 2019/2020 schedule.

Today, Adria Airways’ 558 employees responded to the current events. In an open letter they say that it is very difficult to work in the current situation. Despite these difficult times, they are still proud to wear their uniform, to put on their wings and to work for the airline, on board or at the office.

Lauda, a subsidiary of Ryanair, offers Adria Airways pilots an accelerated recruitment process at its bases in Vienna, Austria and Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Rok Marolt, Director at the Slovenian Civil Aviation Agency (CAA) was less enthusiastic about the ailing airline: “The situation is serious: without a fleet, Adria Airways can go bankrupt in five days, 15 days or a month. But it can also be hours or minutes.”

Time will tell…

Source: Adria ostala brez še enega letala. Zaposleni: Zelo težko nam je. #video (Siol.net)