Thai AirAsia X Files Seeks Bankruptcy Protection While Resuming Some Flights

Thai AirAsia X, the long-haul budget airline under the AirAsia group, said its application for bankruptcy protection was accepted by Thailand’s Central Bankruptcy Court.

“Thai AirAsia X has entered into rehabilitation at an appropriate time with tourism recovering and the nation reopening”, Patima Jeerapaet, chief executive of Thai AirAsia X said in a statement released on Thursday.

The carrier says it’s aiming to revamp its administration process and restructure its debts as part of its efforts to deliver greater efficiency and establish a solid platform for future growth. The company didn’t disclose the figure for its debts.

Thai AirAsia X said the process will have no impact on its operations, and that it plans to resume flights to South Korea and Japan beginning in June. The airline had suspended all of its flights since March 2020.

Thai AirAsia X is a joint venture between Malaysia’s AirAsia X and Thai AirAsia, but the restructuring process will have no impact on those two carriers.

“It was hard to raise funds as the airline shouldered a large amount of debt. A rehabilitation plan approved by the court in the next stage will be a viable solution to maintain business in the long run,” Tassapon Bijleveld, director of Thai AirAsia X, said in to Bangkok Post.

The carrier will draft a rehabilitation plan and strengthen its liquidity to make sure it can run at full capacity. In the last two years, Thai AirAsia X reduced its fleet from 12 to eight planes. The airline is the third to file for bankruptcy protection in Thailand after Thai Airways and Nok Air.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in March that air traffic in Asia this year will reach 68% of the region’s pre-pandemic level, and it should fully recover in 2025.