Thai Airways International indicates that reform plans are still underway and dismisses recent bankruptcy rumours.
“[Thai] has clarified that it has no intention to file for bankruptcy, responding to rumours [that] appeared in the news and online about the consensus of its board of directors meeting on 15 May 2020 to file for bankruptcy,” it said today in a statement that reflects a clarification submitted to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
“Thai’s reform plan has been approved by [Thai’s] board of directors on 17 April 2020 and presented to the State Enterprise Policy Office for consideration on 29 April 2020. The plan will soon be presented to the cabinet for further action. The board of directors had no resolution of filing for bankruptcy as appeared in the news.”
Separately, the carrier is among the SET-listed companies granted an extended deadline to submit first-quarter financial statements, along with Nok Air’s parent company.
In a letter to SET dated 13 May, Thai said that more than half of its total revenue comes from foreign branch offices.
Covid-19-related travel restrictions and shut borders have made it challenging to prepare documents necessary to prepare the financial statements, which may include evidence of ticket sales and ticket refunds, per the auditor’s request.
“Therefore, there are limitations on access to information in searching, preparing and collecting accounting documents for the auditor’s review.”
Thai is 51% owned by the government and was already facing financial difficulties before the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, its losses widened and revenues fell, even as passenger numbers increased.
