UPDATE: Adria Airways has filed for bankruptcy! All flights are now suspended. 

Beleaguered Slovenian airline Adria Airways has less than a week to present the Slovenian Civil Aviation Authority with a solid restructuring plan. Last week the airline said it had to ground all aircraft while it sorted out its finances. While the airline says it has "temporarily ceased majority of its flight operations until Monday, 30 September", the company is operating a limited schedule this weekend between Frankfurt and the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.

Adria Airways has grounded most flights but has a small handful still operating over this weekend. Photo: Anna Zvereva via Wikimedia Commons
According to a press release issued on the airline's website, the company will maintain a connection to its most important hub in Frankfurt. The Airline is operating evening flights to the German financial capital today - Saturday the 28th as well as tomorrow, September 29th. The airline continues by saying it will operate late afternoon flights to Frankfurt and additional European cities on Monday, September 30th. Here is what they've announced:
  • JP124/125 Ljubljana-Frankfurt-Ljubljana
  • JP1089 Ljubljana-Munich-Ljubljana
  • JP136/137 Ljubljana-Vienna-Ljubljana
  • JP394/395 Ljubljana-Brussels-Ljubljana
  • JP306/307 Ljubljana-Zurich-Ljubljana
  • JP726 Ljubljana-Tirana
Adria Airways is still leading active discussions with potential new owners and major creditors and remains dedicated in reaching positive solution for all...The company deeply regrets that it will continue with disruptions in next two days and apologizes to all its passengers and partners. -Adria Airways

Four more days

We reported earlier this week that Slovenia’s Civil Aviation Agency has given the carrier until next Wednesday, October 2nd, to demonstrate its ability to turn things around. In fact, it has until midnight that day to submit a restructuring plan that the Slovenia CAA considers to be ‘viable’, and which they say must be supported by certified aircraft lease agreements.

Adria Airways is the flag carrier of Slovenia. Photo: Pedro Aragão via Wikimedia Commons

As reported earlier, several airlines have stepped in to fill the void left by Adria. Montenegro Airlines has added a new weekly flight from the Montenegro capital of Podgorica. Air Serbia has increased its flight frequency between Belgrade and Ljubljana. Furthermore, Air Serbia has been offering rescue fares in order to repatriate those passengers originally booked to fly on Adria Airways.

Limited or no government bailout

According to Flight Global, Slovenian economic development minister Zdravko Pocivalsek says that there are obvious restrictions on government support. In particular, European Union state-aid rules limit the degree to which the government can intervene.

"We have to assess how feasible and durable are the solutions we have on the table, and take immediate action. This is a challenge for the entire government – which we are taking seriously." -Zdravko Pocivalsek, Economic Development Minister of Slovenia

Flight Global also reports that Pocivalsek says the company will need a complete restructuring of its ownership, finances, and business strategy, warning that failure of the airline would have short-term economic effects.

Conclusion

The past year has been a dramatic one in terms of airline collapse. WOW Air, Jet Airways, and most recently Thomas Cook have all fallen. A number of factors are responsible for this 'trend'- obviously each case has its own distinct characteristics as well.

Do you think Adria will be able to get its act together in time or will it be the next airline to fall after Thomas Cook? Let us know by leaving a comment.