LATAM Airlines Group hopes to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the last quarter of 2022 after securing the financing plus US Bankruptcy Court and shareholder approval for its restructuring plan, says Group Chief Executive Officer Roberto Alvo.

"We have closed the second quarter with significant progress in our reorganisation process under Chapter 11, and we hope to emerge from it during the last quarter of this year. Although the group has made advances in its operational recovery, we continue to remain cautiously optimistic about the coming months, closely monitoring fuel prices and macro-economic variables, as the industry still finds itself in the midst of a very dynamic environment," Alvo said in a statement.

At an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, LATAM obtained the necessary approval from its shareholders for the company's new capital structure and the issuance of the financing instruments presented in the restructuring plan, receiving the support of the vast majority of shareholders, corresponding to 99.8% of the shares present or represented at the meeting, which correspond to 77.5% of the total shares with voting rights. This will allow LATAM to begin the final phase of regulatory requirements in Chile for the eventual implementation of the plan.

LATAM has already begun the process of registering the instruments of the plan in Chile, which started with the submission of the request for registration of the instruments before the Chilean markets regulator (Comisión del Mercado Financiero - CMF) on July 8, 2022.

This comes as LATAM Group reported losses of USD523.2 million for the second quarter of 2022.

The group's results nevertheless reflect a gradual recovery of its operations, reaching a consolidated capacity (measured in Available Seat Kilometres - ASK) of 72.6% compared to 2019, LATAM Group said. This, in turn, represents more than double the capacity (growth of 135.2%) of the same quarter of 2021. The capacity recovery is attributed to the recovery of domestic markets in Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador, and the recovery of its international operations, in the context of sharp fuel price hikes.

During the period, the group's total operating revenues reached USD2.226 billion, 6.1% less than in 2019, but showed an increase of 150.5% compared to 2021. In turn, total operating expenses increased by 3.5% compared to the same quarter of 2019, driven by a 31.5% increase in fuel costs in the quarter compared to the same period in 2019.