The future of Malaysia Airlines is in jeopardy now that lessors have not agreed to the proposed restructuring plan the airline has put forward. The airline, which was already in a bad financial shape pre-COVID, is now fast running out of money and options to survive.

The government of Malaysia has already said that it would not provide financial support. Malaysia Airlines is owned by the Malaysia Aviation Group, which in  turn is owned by the Khazanah Nasional Investment Fund, Malaysia's investment vehicle.

One of the ways forward is to close down Malaysia Airlines and make Firefly the new national airline of the country, which is also owned by the Malaysia Aviation Group. If this route is chosen, Firefly will first add narrowbody-aircraft and in a later stage widebodies. Currently, the low-cost carrier operates a fleet of twelve ATR72s. A decision on the next steps is expected in the coming weeks.

Photo: Anton Homma