Montenegro may liquidate flag carrier over poor financial condition - govt official

"We will try to avoid it [the liquidation]. But if all the indicators tell us that it is an option, we will come to that solution. We will not avoid it if we think we have no other solution or that this solution is the best one," Bojanic said in a video file posted on the website of public broadcaster RTCG on Monday.

The situation at Montenegro Airlines is very neglected from a financial point of view especially after the country's competition authority decided in September to block the adoption of a draft law for public investments in the flag carrier, Bojanic added.

According to that draft law, the company owes 25 million euro ($30 million) in unpaid taxes and has a 32 million euro debt to airport operator Aerodromi Crne Gore. The company reported a 8 million euro loss for 2019, compared with a 2 million euro loss in the previous year.

After a meeting with the management of Montenegro Airlines on Tuesday, Bojanic said the government plans to bring a representative of the European Commission when considering the options for the future of the air carrier.

"The professional representatives of state interests in Montenegro Airlines did not give a single idea that could lead to a positive and sustainable future of the national airline," Bojanic said in his Twitter profile.

Montenegro's government said last week it would replace the flag carrier's management and establish a team of experts to analyse the situation and decide the future of the company by February 2021.

($ = 0.823920 euro)