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Merpati Airlines given 21 days to recover
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan has given PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines (Merpati) until the end of February to revive its operations
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tate-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan has given PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines (Merpati) until the end of February to revive its operations.
'If possible, in the next 21 days Merpati will fly again,' Dahlan said after the launch of his book, Road to Semen Indonesia: Corporation Transformation, Changing Conflict into Strength, on Tuesday night.
The domestic airline halted its operations on Feb. 1 due to its massive debts of Rp 6.7 trillion (US$549 billion). Currently, Merpati has yet to meet its payments on insurance premiums and employee salaries as of October 2013, and a Rp 165 billion ($13.5 million) debt to state-owned oil company PT Pertamina after twice breaching its debt limit.
Dahlan explained that Merpati was in consolidation, allowing the company to temporarily suspend its operations.
'The situation right now has made it necessary for Merpati to cease operating, as the damage would be far greater if it were to continue,' Dahlan said as quoted by Antara.
With regard to the arrears in staff salaries, one possible solution would be to resort to the state-owned Asset Management Company (PT PPA) to act on behalf of restructuring Merpati's debt.
'The problem here is that the PPA now handles Merpati's maintenance facilities and training center, both of which have yet to receive government funding due to long-delayed procedures,' Dahlan added.
Meanwhile, Merpati's corporate secretary, Riswanto CP, said the company's management had eased the burden on its employees by decreasing their working hours and having them work in shifts.
However, this did not apply to Merpati's directors who, according to Riswanto, had to work every day during consolidation. (bcw)
