Thailand’s Nok Air extends time to file restructuring plan

Nok Air (DD, Bangkok Don Mueang) has said in a stock market filing that it has been granted an additional month to file its final restructuring plan, with the new deadline falling on May 15, 2021. “This extension is needed to collect additional information required in order to prepare a complete and comprehensive rehabilitation plan to ensure that it will be appropriate for the airline business during the COVID-19 pandemic situation and will receive the approval at the creditors’ meeting,” the low-cost carrier said. The airline filed for restructuring in July 2020 and was officially admitted to the procedure on December 15, 2020. According to Thai law, it was initially granted three months to submit a final rehabilitation plan to the Central Bankruptcy Court. It already extended the deadline once, through April 15, 2021. The second extension is also the final one permitted. Nok Air underlined that in addition to complex and ongoing negotiations, the previous deadline would have fallen during the celebration of the Thai New Year (Songkran). The four-day holiday period ending on April 15 would render any talks with creditors difficult. The airline’s restructuring plan needs to be separately accepted by the Central Bankruptcy Court and at the creditors’ meeting before it is implemented. Thai Airways International, which is also in restructuring, extended its deadline for the submission of the plan twice, too, before finally filing it in early March 2021.