Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha’s meeting on Wednesday could result in a bailout of about 50-70 billion baht and the loss of 20 international routes for Thai Airways International (THAI).
The rehabilitation plan will reportedly involve a loan worth 40-50 billion baht or the Finance Minister may act as the sponsor or issuer for a bond.
Other reports said the airline still has a loan budget from its shareholders from 2018. The leftover budget is about 50 billion baht which means that the emergency bailout could be less than reported.
The company needs around 30 billion baht to pay management and employee wages until THAI can resume operations, according to sources.
Under the rehabilitation plan, THAI may cancel 17 routes in Asia-Pacific and three in Europe, including Milan, Rome and Moscow. This would leave them with 31 routes in Asia-Pacific and ten routes in Europe, according to anonymous sources from THAI and the Ministry of Transport.
THAI may also ground all international flights until October. Domestic flights, however, are expected to resume in June. Its low cost subsidiary, THAI Smile, is also expected to return in June.
The flagship carrier posted a net loss of 2.11 billion baht in 2017, 11.6 billion baht in 2018 and 12 billion baht in 2019. The airline said in early April that they only have enough cash left to pay their employees’ wages for the month as the yearly budget for 2020 is now down to 10-12 billion baht.
THAI has around 20,000 employees.
