Four years after Bangkok's Central Bankruptcy Court appointed "plan administrators" to oversee the business rehabilitation of Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi), the same court has approved the airline exiting the process.
In a June 16, 2025, Stock Exchange of Thailand filing, Thai Airways said the court had issued an order to terminate the business rehabilitation during a hearing earlier that day. "As a result, the authority of the plan administrators to manage the company's business and assets has ceased," the filing noted.
Thai Airways CEO Chai Eamsiri will have full authority and responsibility for managing the airline, and shareholders will regain their full legal rights.
The Central Bankruptcy Court approved the appointment of the plan administrators, the local equivalent of receivers, on June 15, 2021, after the airline filed for business rehabilitation the previous year. Led by Piyasvasti Amranand, the administrators overhauled the debt-ridden airline by jettisoning 20% of the fleet, culling the workforce by 50%, converting billions of dollars of debt to equity, and recapitalising.
Earlier this week, Piyasvasti told CNBC that he had taken on the role of plan administrator chairman, confident that he could turn around Thai Airways. "It was all about cleaning up the house," he said.
Piyasvasti was CEO of the airline between 2009 and 2012. He described the business rehabilitation process as "complicated and painful," saying resolving competing agendas between different government agencies took up unnecessary time.
"I am confident that the worst is over," Piyasvasti said. "Thai Airways is financially strong - much stronger than before COVID-19."
Within hours of the termination order, Thai Airways held a board meeting to approve a new chairman, Lavaron Sangsnit, new audit committee members, and new nomination and remuneration committee members. The board transferred authorisation to sign and affix the seal to company documents from Piyasvasti and fellow plan administrator Chansin Treenuchagron to Eamsiri.
Thai Airways plans to relist on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in the third quarter of 2025. Over half the existing shares are subject to a lock-up period. However, Piyasvasti says the airline's recent performance (it has been profitable for the last nine quarters) should attract institutional investors.
"We have to keep that performance up," he said. "That's the important thing. We need more institutional investors to invest in the company, but that may not be feasible until there is more of a free float after six months or one year."
