Montenegro entered 2021 with two airlines, neither of which is flying – the formally still existing Montenegro Airlines was prevented from operating by the Minister of Capital Investments, Mr Mladen Bojanić, 20 days after he took the office announcing the airline’s shutting down; and the airline called ‘toMontenegro’, which currently exists only in the Official Gazette 29 of 30 December 2020.
“We had to act promptly in order to save the maximum of MA, but the name, logo, design are subject to change, so we’re inviting everyone interested to send their suggestions to 2montenegro@ gov.me,” tweeted the Finance Minister Mr Milojko Spajić on 1 January.
NON-EXISTING COMPANY
The government’s decision on establishing ‘toMontenegro’ and opening the temporary account with Erste Bank with 4 million euros, doesn’t mean that the company is really established. And its establishment is important, if they want to save anything of Montenegro Airlines, e.g. one aircraft type “Embraer” for which one of the two semi-annual instalments of 1.8 million USD will soon be due. MA acquired the aircraft against a financial lease in 2010 and it was supposed to become its possession. Since the aircraft has left in Montenegro, someone (Government or the airline to which all MA’s rights should be transferred to) is supposed to pay the instalment.
MA cannot do so, since the Tax Administration took the total amount of €3.2 m from its account, and the day after MA grounded its fleet. They owe €300,000 to passengers for tickets, and no Government official has tweeted yet who will pay them money back. Or solved the puzzle: what about MA’s agreement on operational lease with three more “Embraer” aircraft, what about its slots.
OLD FOR THE NEW
The establishment of the new flag carrier wouldn’t be a new thing for Montenegro. In 2008 Montenegro Airlines DOO was removed from the register and Montenegro Airlines AD was founded, with the company succeeding all the contracts and benefits of the old one, while the debts were left to the predecessor. But this government first decided to shut MA down and found a new airline, and instead of using the existing experience, they are building from scratch.
The decision on MA’s shutting down caused bitterness among one group of citizens and delight among others. MANS’s Dejan Milovac tried to be impartial and said the decision “even though the public doesn’t have all information, was probably forced, considering everything that we have been witnessing over the last 15 years… when the debts were accumulating and nobody was held accountable.”
The aviation analyst Mr Alen Šćuric has said openly that he thought the decision to be arrant nonsense that could take Montenegro to bankruptcy and that the new Government’s argument that the EU forbids restructuring makes no sense.
‘2M ontenegro’ at Škaljari b.b.
Interestingly, there is already one company in Montenegro with the name 2Montenegro with the head office at the address Škaljari b.b. Kotor. The owner of the tour-operator is Marina Vujović–Valuyskaya.
