Thai Airways Successfully Exits Court-Supervised Restructuring Amid Recovery Efforts

Thai Airways, a member of Star Alliance, has docked its fleet at the SAT-1 terminal at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok as of September 25, 2023. The airline faced a severe crisis after global travel ceased amid the pandemic, which resulted in mass layoffs and necessitated emergency support from the government. In 2020, Thai Airways entered a court-supervised restructuring process to address its substantial debt of 400 billion baht, approximately 12.3 billion USD, and has reported consistent revenue since the beginning of 2023.

Recently, the Central Bankruptcy Court has approved the airline's exit from the restructuring program, a significant milestone for the company. Thai Airways announced its successful rehabilitation, crediting organizational restructuring, an expansion of flight operations, and improvements to its fleet for their recovery. Plans are in place for the airline to resume trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand by early August, following its delisting in 2021 due to financial and shareholder challenges.

The Thai finance ministry retains a significant stake in the airline, holding nearly 40% of shares. The court has mandated that Thai Airways repays approximately 190 billion baht to creditors over the coming decade, with the airline already having repaid 94 billion baht. Despite the challenges, the carrier has faced criticism for mismanagement, and a probe by the transport ministry in 2020 linked part of its financial difficulties to corruption. Meanwhile, Thailand's tourism sector struggles to reach pre-pandemic levels, with governmental aspirations for 37 million visitors by 2025.