Airport helps Adria

Ljubljana writes off debt

The fight for Adria’s survival continues this week. The indebted Slovenian carrier received some good news yesterday evening when Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport said it would write off 2.4 million Euros, which Adria owes to its hub, the Slovenian News Agency reports. In return, Ljubljana Airport will receive a 47.6% stake in Adria Tehnika, the airline’s maintenance division. Adria will also receive some 7 million Euros from the state owned company PDP, which is a majority share holder in Adria. The new management of Adria Airways believes that the airline will come out of the current turbulent financial climate by April and will return to profitability.

On the other hand, media reports suggest that pilots might go on strike, unhappy with low wages. Wages for pilots and cabin crew were recently slashed by 20% on top of reductions made earlier in 2010. In an online poll conducted by the “Finance.sl” portal, a total of 53% believe that the Slovenian Government won’t be able to solve Adria’s financial troubles. Only 17% believe that the government will help Adria.