MAT gets more bad news

Who no longer wants MAT?

The national carrier of Macedonia, which is currently in major problems as it faces being grounded by January 15 due to the fact that it has debt to the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency, now has received more bad news. The Macedonian government will now allow other carriers to have a “scheduled airline” status in the country. More precisely, MAT is the only Macedonian based carrier that has the status of a scheduled carrier; other airlines are considered as charter carriers only. The government now wants other airlines in Macedonia to have the same status. Except for Star Airlines (the Skopje based cargo airline), no other carrier is based in Macedonia. Those that did exist have all declared bankruptcy. The government’s decision could help start up airlines.

Meanwhile MAT’s CEO says the Civil Aviation Agency’s announcement that they will ground the carrier has hurt the airline greatly. The Macedonian diaspora is turning away from MAT and is choosing other airlines to fly to Skopje and Ohrid. MAT is happy with the way the government is helping the national carrier in overcoming its problems with EUROCONTROL. However many believe that a particular party inside Macedonia’s coalition government wants the airline to disappear.