Spanair Collapse Leaves Adria Airways Tehnika Reeling

Brnik, 01 February (STA) - The owner of Adria Airways Tehnika announced

on Wednesday that the aircraft maintenance company is in serious trouble

following the bankruptcy of Spainair, its second-largest client.

Mazej Golob Matzele of the state-owned PDP asset management firm, which

bought the company from Slovenian flag carrier Adria Airways in January

2011, told the STA that the owners and management were looking at several

possible solutions.

Adria Airways Tehnika, part of which is also

owned by airport operator Aerodrom Ljubljana, employs 230 people. It was

notified of the bankruptcy of Spainair last week.

According to the

daily Dnevnik, Spainair accounted for 25-30% of the company's revenues,

while the bulk comes from services rendered to Adria Airways.

The

management of Adria Airways Tehnika already put forward a restructuring

plan last Friday, the details of which however remain unknown. Ongoing

talks have also been confirmed by Aerodrom Ljubljana.

Dnevnik

meanwhile reports that the financial woes of the company started as early

as 2010, when it made a EUR 5m loss. Its loss in 2011 reportedly amounted

to EUR 1m.

According to Dnevnik, Adria Airways Tehnika moreover

suffered several millions in damage as part of its formation and later

capital injections, which is why it announced lawsuits against its founder

Adria Airways.

The paper adds that workers have been receiving only

90% of their wages and have not had their social contributions paid.