Philippine Airlines files for bankruptcy

Philippine Airlines said Saturday it was filing for bankruptcy successful the United States to slash $2 cardinal successful indebtedness arsenic it tries to past an manufacture gutted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The nationalist bearer of the Philippines said the filing volition let it to restructure contracts and chopped indebtedness by astatine slightest $2 cardinal portion getting $655 cardinal successful caller superior erstwhile it emerges from the Chapter 11 process.

PAL volition besides downsize its fleet by 25 percent and re-negotiate contracts to trim lease payments.

"Philippine Airlines volition proceed business-as-usual operations portion finalising the restructuring of our network, fleet and organisation," senior vice president and main fiscal serviceman Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez said successful a video message.

As portion of agreements reached with suppliers, lenders and lessors, Rodriguez said PAL volition unafraid $505 cardinal to execute the betterment plan. The wealth volition aboriginal person into hose equity and semipermanent debt.

It volition besides get different $150 cardinal successful debt backing aft it emerges from the restructuring process "in a fewer months", Rodriguez said.

Philippine aerial question measurement collapsed by 75 percent from astir 30 cardinal passengers successful 2019 to 7 cardinal past twelvemonth owed to pandemic restrictions, PAL president Gilbert Santa Maria said successful the aforesaid video.

The bearer cancelled much than 80,000 flights, wiping retired $2 cardinal successful revenue, and fto spell of 2,300 employees.

Its main shareholder injected much than $130 cardinal successful exigency liquidity and a non-strategic plus was sold for much than $70 million.

Santa Maria said PAL present operates 21 percent of pre-pandemic flights to 70 percent of its accustomed destinations.

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© 2021 AFP