Liquidators at Indonesia's PT Perusahaan Pengelola Aset (PPA) have sold the first tranche of assets belonging to defunct Merpati (Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) with judges at Surabaya's District Court having decided on the initial allocation of the asset sale proceeds that total almost IDR59 billion rupiah (USD3.8 million).
State-owned PPA is handling the winding up of Merpati, which stopped flying in 2014 amid financial problems, including not meeting payroll, but was only officially declared bankrupt in June 2022. The commercial division of the Surabaya District Court is now overseeing the winding-up process and recently issued the first stage distribution list from asset sales after ordering an auction of the airline's assets.
Specifically, IDR54.8 billion will be distributed among 1,225 former Merpati employees and a further IDR 3.8 billion (USD243,839) will be distributed among 50 ex-employees still owed salaries.
"This division is expected to provide certainty for the settlement of Merpati Airlines' obligations to creditors by prioritizing the principle of justice for all parties, including former employees," said PPA director Yadi Jaya Ruchandi in a media statement.
Merpati flew for over 50 years before ceasing operations eight years ago. Since then, there have been various efforts to relaunch or sell the airline. But during the June 2022 bankruptcy hearing, the court was told creditors remained out of pocket to the tune of USD731 million and previous court-approved settlement agreements had gone largely unfulfilled.
