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Montenegro Airlines ceased operations after the new government of the small country refused to continue financing the indebted national airline.
The airline that was formed 25 years ago apologized to its passengers for the sudden termination of all flights and thanked them for “the years of trust, travel and friendship.”
The company that operated a small fleet of Embraer 195 and Fokker 100 and flew to many European capitals is estimated to have accumulated more than 150 million euros (NZ $ 258 million) in debt that grew even more with the collapse of the season. summer tourist due to coronavirus. pandemic.
Risto Bozovic / AP
Montenegro Airlines carried around 10 million passengers during the last two and a half decades.
Montenegro’s new conservative government, which last month replaced a pro-Western leadership, said the company’s management suffered from “numerous omissions and shortcomings”, adding that the monthly salaries of more than 350 employees were last paid. time in September.
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The government said it will stop financing the losses immediately, adding that the airline’s debt is such that it faces the “possibility of aircraft confiscation” at foreign airports. But the government added that it plans to form a “completely new” airline in the coming months.
The airline, which carried around 10 million passengers over the past two and a half decades, said that the “government’s decision to close our company will have a negative impact on the entire aviation sector in the country.”
Risto Bozovic / AP
The airline that was formed 25 years ago has apologized to its passengers for the sudden termination of all flights.
In a sentimental farewell gesture, air traffic controllers gave the pilots of the company’s last flight to Belgrade on Friday permission to take a heart-shaped course in the skies over the picturesque mountainous state of the Adriatic.
“It was pure emotion triggered by tears and the great love for our company by the crew and all its employees,” wrote the flight captain, Nikola Pavicevic, on Facebook.
