Thai Airways Expects To Exit Rehab Sooner As Performance Improves. Thai Airways International (THAI) said on Tuesday it may exit its rehabilitation period sooner than the 2025 deadline granted under bankruptcy protection. The Nation

THAI's head of finance Chai Iamsiri said the national carrier's performance has improved following restructuring of the organisation and costs.

"The company may be able to exit the rehabilitation programme sooner than initially planned. But I can't tell how soon because there must be steps to be taken first," Chai said.

The Cabinet gave the green light for THAI to undergo rehabilitation under the Bankruptcy Act in May 2020, while the airline's protection filing was granted by a court in June last year. Chai said THAI's initial five-year rehab plan can be extended twice by a year each time, meaning a maximum rehab period of seven years.

He added that the airline may not have to seek a new loan of up to Bt25 billion as earlier expected because its cashflows have increased.

THAI filed for bankruptcy protection after reporting total debts of 245 billion baht at the end of 2019. The rehabilitation programme requires the airline to halve its 30,000-strong workforce and cut costs to 53 billion baht this year.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand has suspended trading in THAI shares, with the airline handed a deadline of 2025 to resolve the problems that triggered suspension.

Chai said the airline was committed to improving performance so that trading could resume before the 2025 deadline.