Photo by Benjamin Liew | AeroNewsX
Malaysia Airlines, the flag carrier of Malaysia, dismissed claims of receiving funding from its government. This was a response to a local media report that Malaysia Airlines had secured US$300 million in funding to help see it through the COVID-19 crisis. The report did not clarify if the airline was getting new funding, but "with the COVID-19 situation still developing, Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd’s (MAG) capital requirements are fluid". MAG chief executive officer Captain Izham Ismail said the report was untrue.
"Khazanah Nasional Bhd, being its sole shareholder, has been supportive of its efforts to address and cope with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis although no additional funding has been committed," Ismail said.
Work on the airline's recovery plan was announced in early July. Khazanah managing director Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzwan had said that the plan might need time to be ironed out. "The crisis is difficult for all airlines, anything travel or aviation-related. Just like any other airline, they will have to come out with a plan to manage that," he reportedly said.
"Malaysia Airlines was merely 3% shy of targeted passenger revenue for 2019, having met second-half target after a weak first half. Most subsidiaries under MAG also performed better than target and as a group, it managed to achieve 65% of target in cost savings," a. Malaysia Airlines spokesperson said.
It was mentioned that "the financial impact is tremendous and MAG has wasted no time in realigning its LTBP to the changing aviation landscape." The cash strap airline had cut its capacity by 96% and grounded almost its entire fleet due to global travel restrictions. Malaysia Airlines indicated in early March that it might collapse without government support due to the lack of revenue after the closure of the national airspace. The airline, which employs 13,000 employees, has refrained from downsizing its workforce thus far.
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