Thai Airways (IATA: TG), the flag carrier of Thailand, will be receiving a capital injection from the Thai government to aid the airline with liquidity support. With this move, the government intends to help the loss-making carrier survive the coronavirus crisis, which is pushing many airlines to the limit. Thai Airways has been reporting losses since 2017 and this crisis will surely have an impact on the struggling airline.
In a statement made recently, Saksayam Chidchob, the Thai Transport Minister commented: “On the capital needed to support liquidity, it will be clear next week”. His comments were referring to the flag carrier, which is a state-owned company with 51% of its shares belonging to the Thai Ministry of Finance. Chidchob also mentioned that a committee was being created to oversee the airline over the next 3 to 6 months and after his comments, the airline’s shares rose more than 14%.
Thai Airways suspended its operations because of the coronavirus crisis last month and has remained that way ever since. Moreover, the airline can’t yet see the light at the end of the tunnel as the Thai government extended a ban on passenger flights until the end of April, prolonging the amount of time which the airline’s fleet will be grounded and not making any money.
With tourism expected to be one of the most affected areas of this coronavirus crisis in the next years, and with the number of people visiting and travelling around the world seeing a sharp decline, airlines are quickly adapting and retiring old, less-efficient aircraft. Regarding this, an official mentioned that they would be reducing the number of plane types in the airline’s fleet to reduce costs, according to Reuters.
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