January 5 (SeeNews) - Romanian flag carrier Tarom said it has named administration board member Mihaita Ursu new general manager.
Ursu, who served as Tarom's general manager for a year starting June 2020, will replace Catalin Radu Prunariu, who decided to resign for personal reasons, Tarom said in a press release on Tuesday evening.
Prunariu was appointed in June 2021.
In June, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Romanian government's support measures in favour of Tarom would be compatible with EU rules on state aid.
On May 28, Romania notified to the Commission a 190 million euro ($214 million) plan for the restructuring of Tarom. The plan sets out a package of measures for streamlining Tarom's operations, renewing its ageing fleet and reducing costs. This support would take the form of a capital injection, a direct subsidy and a debt write-off of the rescue aid amount and its corresponding interest.
Tarom has been experiencing financial difficulties for years and has received a temporary rescue loan from Romania of approximately 36.7 million euro, after approval by the Commission under EU State aid rules in February 2020.
In October 2020, the Commission approved, under EU State aid rules, a 19.3 million euro Romanian loan guarantee to compensate Tarom for damage suffered due to the coronavirus outbreak.
($=0.887 euro)