Adding to the list of European airlines that have recently shut down, Adria Airways has filed for bankruptcy and has terminated all operations.
Facing significant financial pressure in recent times, Adria Airways was forced to make unexpected flight schedule changes;this has resulted in unstable operations. The news comes as Thomas Cook, XL Airways and Aigle Azur all recently closed their doors for the final time.
A notice was published on their website on Monday the 30th of September, stating that they had filed motion for bankruptcy proceedings of the company at the Kranj District Court.
Worsening the situation, due to the inability to pay for aircraft leases, some aircraft within Adria Airways’ fleet were repossessed, leaving large gaps in their flight schedules.
According to Flight Global, Adria Airways was ordered to stop using a Bombardier CRJ900 on the 30th of September following the termination of the lease.
It is understood that the aircraft, registered S5-AAK, was leased from AeroCentury. Two other CRJ900s (S5-AAU and S5-AAV) have already been pulled from service, as a result of similar leasing agreements with Trident Aviation Leasing Services.
Adria Airways also operated a small fleet of Airbus A319s, Bombardier CRJ700s and Saab 2000s alongside their CRJ900s.
The majority of the last week or so, Adria had operated single flights to Frankfurt; which is a highly beneficial route due to their partnership with Lufthansa.
A restructuring plan can be submitted to the Slovenian Civil Aviation Authority by Wednesday October 2nd, however should they fail to do so, or it is deemed not good enough, Adria Airways’ Air Operators Certificate will be suspended.
Despite this seemingly potential recovery path, the bankruptcy indicates the airline has no possible way to restructure; prompting them to terminate operations.
The fall of Adria Airways has now left Slovenia without a national airline. Stranded passengers and the remaining demand in Ljubljana will likely be collected by Lufthansa or other low-cost airlines.