Czech Airlines (CSA) has filed for reorganisation under insolvency regulations as "the last option to save the company" unless it receives government financial support. The carrier says its application to a court in Prague was necessary because an extraordinary moratorium has ended and "all possible solutions to resolve the challenging financial situation" have been exhausted. All scheduled flights of CSA and its parent carrier Smartwings will continue without interruption. CSA says its "payment reputation was challenged significantly" by the pandemic, and laments "unequal and unfair competition" owing to a lack of government support. "Despite recommendations of the European Commission and the International Air Transport Association, CSA did not receive any financial support from the government, as opposed to its direct competitors," the airline asserts. Smartwings and CSA have asked the government to provide financial support to cover around nearly 7,200 flight cancellations when operations were suspended between March and May 2020. Additionally, CSA says that it and Smartwings have since August been asking the government to implement a dedicated air transport support programme similar to schemes in other sectors, and complains: "The Czech state refused to participate in the rescue of CSA… despite the fact that the shareholders declared their readiness for financial support to CSA." CSA argues that Smartwings plans to merge the two airlines under a "common concern solution" will "lead to their rescue and is more favourable for the creditors". The SkyTeam carrier adds: "The proposed reorganisation is the last option to save the company, unless the approach of the Czech government is reconsidered." More than 600 staff contracts have been terminated amid wider restructuring, CSA notes. As a result of the pandemic, the airline suffered a Kc1.57 billion ($73 million) annual loss amid a 20% revenue decline, it says. Data shows that Czech Airlines has one Airbus A319, one A320, one Boeing 737-800 and five ATR 72-500s. The turboprops are listed as being in storage. The carrier has four A220-300s and three A321XLRs on order. CSA says it was scheduled to receive new aircraft from Airbus in late 2020, and planned to launch long-haul flights. Its A320 and 737 are managed by lessor BBAM. Three of the ATRs are managed by ASL Aviation Group and the other two by Nordic Aviation Capital. Smartwings has 27 737NGs and seven 737 Max 8s. Then of the 737-800s and six Max jets are listed as being in storage. Smartwings has another 21 Max 8s on order. All aircraft in Smartwings' existing and on-order fleet are, or will be, leased. The lessors include AerCap, Air Lease, BBAM, Carlyle Aviation Partners, GECAS and Macquarie AirFinance.

One of African carrier Linhas Aereas de Mocambique’s Boeing 737-700s has suffered a runway excursion during landing at Quelimane airport. LAM says the aircraft was operating the domestic flight TM1134 from Maputo on 26 February. The aircraft involved (C9-BAR) came to rest on rough grassy ground after arriving from the capital at about 14:40, the airline adds. Quelimane has a single runway, designated 18/36, around 1,800m in length. LAM says the aircraft “ended up sliding, end at the end of the runway”. Images from the scene indicate passengers were disembarked using airstairs, and the airline says there were no casualties. Meteorological data for the airport at the time of the incident indicates good visibility, with no significant adverse weather, although it suggests crosswinds from the west, and the presence of cumulonimbus cloud in the vicinity. LAM has two 737-700s in a fleet which also includes a pair of Embraer 190s. The aircraft involved in the incident, originally delivered to Aloha Airlines in 2004, was leased by LAM in 2019.

Thai Airways has reported its worst-ever full-year net loss – dragged down by significant one-time costs – as it faces possible delisting from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) because of negative equity. For the year ended 31 December, Thai, which is in the middle of debt restructuring, posted a net loss of Bt141 billion ($4.69 billion), widening the Bt12 billion net loss it reported in 2019. The embattled carrier took more than Bt92 billion in one-time charges during the year – including racking up aircraft impairment costs to the tune of more than Bt82 billion. At the operational level, Thai was Bt48 billion in the red. This compares with the Bt12.4 billion operational loss it reported in 2019. Revenue plummeted 73.8% year on year to Bt48.3 billion, led mainly by a collapse in passenger revenue amid pandemic-driven travel restrictions globally. Expenses fell 51% to Bt96 billion, despite reduced flying activity, as the carrier saw net finance costs – including interest from operating lease agreements – nearly double year on year. In 2020, Thai carried just 5.9 million passengers, a 76% drop year on year. Full-year traffic plunged 79%, and capacity fell 74%. Thai’s shareholder equity fell to negative Bt127 billion, which prompted the SET to warn that the flag carrier could be delisted. The SET is expected to come to a decision in seven business days, or by 7 March. In its outlook, Thai notes that vaccines will go some way towards helping the industry recover, though it notes that its financial performance for the first half of 2021 will continue to remain “negative”. Thai’s staggering losses come less than a week before the carrier was due to submit its business rehabilitation plan to Thailand’s Central Bankruptcy Court. In late-January, the court allowed a final submission deadline extension to 2 March. Thai said then that it needed an extension – the second to be granted – because it needed “to put together the comments and suggestions from several groups of creditors on the principle of the draft rehabilitation plan, in order to prepare a complete and comprehensive rehabilitation plan to ensure that the rehabilitation plan will receive the approval of the creditors’ meeting”.