Estonian Air declared bankrupt

Harju County Court today declared state-owned airline AS Estonian Air bankrupt.
The court set January 15 as the date for the first general meeting of creditors. A total of 222 creditors have claims amounting to 113.5 million euros.
The company has 11.4 million euros worth of assets.
“Besides the general meeting, the other important date is the deadline for submitting claims, which is two months after the decision on bankruptcy is published in the Official Announcements (Ametlikud Teadaanded),” Asko Pohla, the legal representative for Estonian Air, said.
Staff at Estonian Air have already received on average 4,700 euros in compensation from the Employment Office for losing their jobs.
The company was set up by the state at the end of 1991 and was owned by the state until 1996 and again from 2010.
Estonian Air ended operations in November when the European Commission ruled that the state-aid given to the company was illegal, forcing Estonian Air to pay back the Estonian state tens of millions of euros the company does not have.
Editor: J.M. Laats