Thai Airways to file bankruptcy

The Thailand government is planning to submit a rehabilitation plan for Thai International Airways to a bankruptcy court in order to save the troubled carrier, a report from Reuters said.

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The government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosiwat told Reuters, "the State-Enterprise Planning Office agreed in principle for the rehabilitation of Thai Airways in court ... the procedure will be submitted to cabinet tomorrow."

This move replaces a previous plan which involves Thai Airways seeking a guaranteed load from the government amounting to 58.1 billion Baht or US$ 2.6 billion.

Under this bankruptcy rehabilitation plan, the airline would be managed by court-appointed administrators and would be protected from creditor claims.

Pinyosiwat also said, " “It is similar to filing Chapter 11 in the United States."

Thai Airways had been struggling financially even before the CoviD-19 crisis, but was worsened due to the drop of international air travel demand caused by government imposed lockdowns and travel restrictions.