The financial position of Skyteam member CSA Czech Airlines has apparently worsened massively. Local media write that the Smartwings subsidiary is in acute danger of bankruptcy. A maintenance company put two ATR72 on the chain because of unpaid bills.

Behind the scenes there is a fierce dispute between Czech Airlines Technics, which is indirectly in the hands of the state. The airline CSA, on the other hand, is a subsidiary of Smartwings. Apart from a similar-sounding name, there is nothing in common. The technical operation maintains, among other things, the ATR fleet on behalf of the airline. This business relationship should result in arrears.

Czech Airlines Technics says that due to unpaid bills, two ATR72 turboprop aircraft have been chained and not given to CSA. The Zdopravy was also told that the Smartwings Group also had other machines available, so that the measure would not really be of any consequence.

Smartwings: Without government aid, CSA goes bankrupt

The Smartwings Group, to which CSA belongs, sees the matter completely differently and speaks of an illegal fixing of the two ATR72, which on top of that do not belong to CSA but to a leasing company. The group refers to a government moratorium that was explicitly issued for airlines. The maintenance company rejects the allegation and says that there is no violation of the moratorium.

A spokeswoman for the Smartwings Group also said that there had been no advance notice and therefore the subsidiary CSA should have canceled some flights at short notice. There are even accusations that Czech Airlines Technics wanted to bring about the bankruptcy of CSA. That is probably not entirely coincidental, because Smartwings explicitly warned that the Skyteam member's financial position is massively strained and that bankruptcy is threatened without government aid. The maintenance organization rejects any connection with the announcement.