TAROM Faces 930 Million Lei Debt; Reform or Sale Looms

Romania's national airline, TAROM, is grappling with severe financial difficulties, accumulating debts of approximately 930 million lei and negative equity totaling 105 million lei. The airline is projecting losses of 186 million lei for the current year, exacerbated by aircraft occupancy rates falling below the targeted 70% threshold. Interim Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu revealed these figures, emphasizing the precarious state of the company.

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TAROM is facing financial debts of approximately 930 million lei, negative equity of 105 million lei and estimates losses of 186 million lei for this year.

Gheorghiu pointed out that the reported profit in 2024 was not a result of operational success but rather from asset sales and exceptional accounting treatments. She described it as a "false profit." The core issue, according to Gheorghiu, is not a lack of potential but inefficient governance. She lamented that TAROM appears trapped in a cycle where assets are sold to cover losses, difficult decisions are postponed, and governance conflicts obstruct necessary reforms.

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The profit reported by the company in 2024 was generated by the sale of assets and exceptional accounting treatments, not by current operational activity.

The deputy prime minister also criticized the absence of a coherent long-term strategy and a clear vision for the airline's competitiveness. She asserted that a strategic company cannot be saved by patriotic rhetoric alone, demanding real board independence, professional criteria, managerial accountability, and a serious industrial strategy for Romanian aviation. Gheorghiu stressed that time is running out for implementing reforms.

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The company TAROM seems caught in a vicious cycle where the company's assets are sold to cover losses, difficult decisions are postponed, and governance conflicts block reform.

To rescue TAROM, Gheorghiu proposed a recovery management plan, professionalized governance, measurable objectives, financial discipline, and a strategic partnership. She underscored the airline's strategic importance for Romania's connectivity, mobility, and security. "Either we start the real reform at TAROM now, or the company will continue to be sold off in pieces just to buy a little more time," Gheorghiu concluded, highlighting the urgent need for decisive action.

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You cannot save a strategic company only with patriotic speeches. You cannot demand performance without the real independence of the Board of Directors, without real professional criteria, without managerial assumption and without a serious industrial strategy for Romanian aviation.