Kuwait Airways Corp (KAC) took a major step toward full privatisation Saturday, as parliament's finance and economic panel approved a bill to transform loss-making airline into a public company.
The government-sponsored draft law was approved with several amendments to "safeguard interests of national employees and protect public funds," said MP Abdulwahab al-Haroun.
The bill must now be passed by the 50-member elected house and endorsed by emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah to become law.
Haroun said the panel had asked specialist bodies to evaluate the assets of the state-owned airline, which has reported a profit only once since the 1990 Iraqi invasion of the oil-rich emirate.
The national carrier has suffered from cashflow problems and debts, which peaked at 1.4 billion dollars after the Iraq's eight-month occupation which began in August 1990 and when it lost 86 percent of its capital.
KAC borrowed 1.3 billion dollars for rehabilitation after the emirate's liberation in the Gulf War, but has repaid most of it.
But its woes have been compounded by the emirate's outspoken parliament, which has refused to pass its final accounts for the last six fiscal years and deprived it of government assistance to pay its debt.
KAC's total debt has reached 140 million dinars (467 million dollars), Haroun sai.
According to Finance Minister Mahmud al-Nuri, total losses over the past 11 fiscal years have reached 530 million dinars (1.8 billion dollars).
The cabinet last week approved the establishment of the emirate's first private airline following the opening up of the domestic aviation sector to private investors.
Last month, the carrier's chairman Ahmad al-Zaben offered his resignation, citing lack of government support.
The carrier operates a fleet of 15 Airbus and two Boeing 777 aircraft, while total net assets stood at two billion dollars last year.
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