Germania: preliminary insolvency administrator committed to investor solution

Berlin, 8 February 2019. Initial progress has been made in the preliminary insolvency proceedings concerning Germania Fluggesellschaft mbH, Germania Technik Brandenburg GmbH and Germania Flugdienste GmbH: the preliminary insolvency administrator Rüdiger Wienberg is holding talks with interested parties regarding possible takeover scenarios. Meanwhile, the German Employment Agency has approved the pre-financing of the outstanding January salaries, meaning that the approximately 1,700 employees will receive their money within the next few days.

“Our primary objective is to keep the airline operational so that we do not lose the take-off and landing slots”, said Wienberg. “This is the prerequisite for a solution that will preserve Germania’s business operations either in full or in part.” In particular, this sort of solution requires fully intact infrastructure, i.e. operational aircraft, crews and maintenance services. In order to ensure this, Wienberg is currently involved in talks with the German Federal Aviation Authority (Luftfahrtbundesamt) and the lessors of the 27 Germania aircraft. Wienberg has also already made contact with potential investors.

Marking an initial key step, Germania Technik Brandenburg GmbH’s operating licence has been maintained in consultation with the Federal Aviation Authority. The company, with a workforce of 178, mainly manages the Germania fleet, but also handles aircraft belonging to other airlines. This means that the Germania aircraft can continue to be maintained and kept ready for operation. At the same time, advanced negotiations are under way with the lessors to ensure continued operations during the preliminary insolvency proceedings.

The employment contracts of the approximately 1,700 employees of the three companies will remain in force unchanged; no notices of termination have been issued. Depending on operational requirements, the employees will continue working in the future, too. Some of the flight crew (around 400 pilots and 580 flight attendants in total) are currently still busy parking the airline's 27 aircraft. In addition, the aircraft must be airborne every two weeks to stop their operating licence from expiring. Some of the crew members are also to be deployed for this purpose.

Efforts to allow passengers stuck at their destinations to return home are also making progress. Germania is in constant contact with the tour operators in order to help them rebook passengers on alternative flights. In cases involving direct bookings, Germania has made anonymous lists, setting out the number of passengers, departure airport and destination, available to other airlines to make it easier for them to plan.

The airline Germania had filed for insolvency last Monday (February 4). The preliminary insolvency proceedings include Germania Fluggesellschaft mbH (1,426 employees), Germania Technik Brandenburg mbH (178 employees) and Germania Flugdienste GmbH (74 employees). The Swiss company Germania Flug AG and Bulgarian Eagle are not affected by the insolvency.