The Indonesian government has officially authorised the dissolution of PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, better known as Merpati (Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta). While the airline stopped flying in early 2014, it was only officially declared bankrupt in mid-2022.
On February 20, 2023, Indonesian President Joko Widodo signed Government Regulation (PP) Number 8 of 2023, permitting the airline's dissolution and spelling the end of any relaunch hopes. "(Merpati) was dissolved because it was declared bankrupt based on a decision (of the) commercial court at the Surabaya District Court dated June 2, 2022," the official dissolution notice read. Liquidators have five years from the bankruptcy declaration date to sell off any remaining assets, pay out creditors, and wind up the company, with any surplus capital to be returned to the Indonesian treasury.
Merpati Airlines was founded in 1962 and almost entirely state-owned. Over its 30 plus years of flying, the airline operated airframe types ranging from DC-9-30s to F28-1000s to B737-500s. According to ch-aviation fleets history data, when it ceased flying, Merpati had nine B737-300s, four B737-400s, one B737-500s, eight DHC-8-300s, and thirteen MA-60s in its fleet.
Since flights halted nine years ago, various plans to restructure and relaunch the airline have come and gone. Despite sometimes reaching tentative agreements with investors to inject capital, Merpati never received the funding it needed to restart. Last year, during the court process to declare the airline bankrupt, the court heard Merpati still owed its 1,283 creditors, including many former employees, over IDR11 trillion rupiah (USD723.6 million dollars). The bankruptcy declaration allows liquidators to begin disposing off assets and settling creditor's claims. The formal insolvency notice allows that process to continue through to 2027.
