A human rights institute in Slovenia has bought the flight school formerly belonging to the flag carrier based in Ljubljana, Adria Airways. Even more surprisingly, the flight school was purchased for just €7,500 (8,900 USD). Let’s take a look at the details.
A human rights institute makes the purchase
The Slovenia Times reports that The Institute for Constitutional System and Human Rights purchased the flight school of Adria Airways, the bankrupt flag carrier of Slovenia. The flight school was called, and will remain called, the Adria Aviation Academy. Adria Airways airline declared bankruptcy after 58 years of operations last year.
The institute is led by Peter Jambrek, a former Constitutional Court chief justice. He entered the project with a strategic partner from China. The partner is a businessman named Kai Dai. He will hold 55% of the ownership share while the institute leader will hold 30%. Interestingly, 1% will be held by the son of the institute leader.
Adria Aviation Academy has big plans
Peter Jambrek said that he intends for Adria Aviation Academy to become the biggest flight school in the world. He said:
“We are targeting a large pool of countries – in China for instance there is a tremendous shortage of pilots, and the same is true in India, Indonesia”
The intention is to begin operating the school next year. Peter Jambrek says he is waiting for the pandemic to “calm down” first, though it is unclear why he believes that will be next year. In the meantime, the flight school will be obtaining all the necessary permits and certificates.
Adria Airways’ assets are all on sale
The sale of Adria Aviation Academy is part of a wider sell-off of Adria Airways’ assets as part of bankruptcy proceedings being conducted in Slovenia. A total of 88 million Euros (105 million USD) of claims need to be met. The process is complicated because Adria’s assets are valued at a significantly lower amount of 6 million euros (7 million USD).
Some of Adria Airways’ assets have already been put on sale. The Air Operator Certificate was auctioned off and bought by the “King of Bananas”, who presumably wants to establish a new airline in Slovenia with this asset. At the same time, Slovenian-based cargo airline Solinair is also making plans to establish the second Adria Airways.
A few weeks ago, the bankruptcy administrator announced that 20 airplane models of Adria Airways CRJ900 aircraft were also on sale, as a single package on an auction. The starting price is €1,500 ($1,750).
In March, 1,734 Adria Airways uniforms were put on sale, also through an auction. The starting price was €50,000 ($59,000), but this attracted no purchases, and so no money was made from this asset.
What do you think of the fact that a flight school was purchased by a human rights institute? What about the price of just €7,500? Let us know what you think of this story in the comments below.
