Air Moldova has temporarily ceased operations while it awaits court approval to carry out an accelerated restructuring of its business, according to information from the website Boarding Pass.
The Chisinau-based airline filed the relevant application with the court last Tuesday. All flights and the sale of new tickets have been suspended since the same day.
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Air Moldova must get approval to solve its financial problems
According to the company, this is an action plan aimed at resolving the financial problems it is facing, receiving new investments and avoiding bankruptcy.
The initiative will allow interested parties to invest in the company. According to Moldovan media, potential investors would be willing to contribute around 50 million dollars. However, the investment cannot materialise without first initiating the restructuring process.
If the court accepts the application, Air Moldova could resume operations within three days of the decision, although no deadline has yet been set.
The company, which was established in 1993, has been in private hands since October 2018. However, it remains the main carrier based in Moldova and its frequencies are subject to public scrutiny.
Internal and external drawbacks
According to the company itself, previous mismanagement led to the current situation. The former management is facing a criminal case for possible corruption and abuse of power. However, pre-trial proceedings have been repeatedly postponed since the end of 2021.
In addition, the company is also facing a number of external factors affecting other operators in the region. The pandemic posed a huge challenge to its activities and forced it to suspend all flights for four months. Subsequently, the outbreak of war in Ukraine dealt a further blow, as flights to Russia accounted for a significant part of its revenues.
In this context, aircraft were withdrawn and returned to their lessors. The airline currently has a fleet of two Airbus A319 and one A320.
These situations put pressure on the airline and increased its debts. So far, Air Moldova has not received any support from the state or other interested parties. The current management rejects any links with the Moldovan government and claims that all insinuations are based on assumptions and unfounded accusations.
