The Central Bankruptcy Court in Bangkok has issued another approval regarding the Nok Air (DD, Bangkok Don Mueang) business rehabilitation plan and an amendment accepted by creditors. In a September 29 Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) filing, the airline said that the rehabilitation plan developed by administrators Wutthiphum Jurangkool, Tai Chong Yih, Prinya Waiwatana, and Chavalit Uttasart, had been accepted by the court that day.
Nok Air filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2020 after the pandemic made managing the airline's THB18+ billion baht (USD475.4 million) impossible. At the time, it said it would use the judicial process to restructure its business. It took a further 13 months before over 76% of creditors approved the restructuring plan while embattled former parent Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) sold down its stake to under 10%.
The administrators said in the filing that the airline had paid creditors THB16,783,203 baht (USD443,226) in the three months to September 28, per the existing creditors' agreement. They said that travel demand was improving and that they expected a "return to normal and efficient business."
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Nok Air operates thirteen B737-800s and four DHC-8-Q400s to 28 destinations in Thailand, Viet Nam, Myanmar, and China. Recently, it has axed some domestic routes as CEO Wutthiphum Jurangkool said he wanted to focus on higher yielding international flights.
Meanwhile, in what is a relatively regular event for Thailand-based airlines in financial bother, the SET warned on October 3 that Nok Air faced possible delisting because it had failed to submit financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2021. The exchange requires filings by March 31 but also builds in a six-month grace period. However, that grace period expired at the end of September. The airline is also yet to submit its financial results for the first half of 2022.
As that warning was issued, Nok Air told the SET that it needed one more month to file its 2021 accounts. Citing the September 29 court decision, Jurangkool told the bourse that the airline needs more time to carefully review its accounts and information disclosure to "ensure correctness, completeness, and the most benefit to all users."
