Thailand: Airlines nudging PM for soft loans

Thai airlines are preparing to send a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha next week asking for soft loans that have been delayed in the absence of a finance minister. Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of Asia Aviation (AAV), the largest shareholder of Thai AirAsia (TAA), said all airlines will seek a meeting with Gen Prayut to discuss the problems facing Thailand's aviation business, which is still in need of government support. Eight airlines banded together at the end of March to ask the Finance Ministry to allocate 25b baht in soft loans to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. In the past four months, there has been no follow-up as airlines have struggled with cash flow. NokScoot decided to permanently close operations. Nok Air will start a business rehabilitation plan soon. Tassapon said that while most airlines can service domestic routes, they cannot make a profit by depending on the local market alone.<br/>