Government deposits initial funding for Montenegro Airlines successor

Montenegro’s government has acted swiftly to start establishing a successor to the country’s defunct flag-carrier Montenegro Airlines. The carrier ceased operations on 26 December after the government refused to continue supporting the heavily-indebted company. But the government has formally registered a new company, depositing E4m in founding capital for an entity named ToMontenegro. Podgorica-based financial institution Erste Bank has issued a certificate of payment for the deposit which, it says, took place on 31 December. “This certificate is issued for the purposes of establishing the legal entity ToMontenegro,” it adds. Montenegro’s government says finance minister Milojko Spajic recently met with the German ambassador, who had shown particular interest in the airline situation. “The ambassador pointed out that tourism is a very important branch of the Montenegrin economy, and that it is therefore necessary to ensure good transport connections between Montenegro and the rest of Europe,“ the government says. It adds that the minister had responded that a new airline would need to be “economically sustainable” and established “as soon as possible”.<br/>