Former Nordica partner makes €25 million from sale of assets, waiting for liquidation
The government will decide early next year what to do with state-owned Transpordi Varahaldus, which leased planes to Nordica and now holds €25 million.
U.S. aviation company Regional One, which purchased seven passenger aircraft formerly operated by bankrupt airline Nordica, is set to take delivery of the final plane in the near future.
Ideally, the aircraft would be handed over before the end of the year, but it will likely happen in January, according to Ergo Blumfeldt, member of the management board of Transpordi Varahaldus.
"This particular aircraft is a bit unusual in our fleet because its landing gear is leased. The original landing gear was sent for maintenance by Nordica and the aircraft's technical inspection, handover and related documentation have been significantly more complex than for the other planes," Blumfeldt said, explaining the delay.
Under an agreement signed in June, the sale price for the seven 88-seat Bombardier CRJ900NG aircraft is $37.5 million.
Transpordi Varahaldus has also sold the planes' spare parts and five of their six engines, with the sales contract for the final engine expected to be signed in the coming days. The company earned around $5 million from the sale of the parts and engines.
In addition, Transpordi Varahaldus has outstanding claims against Nordica (Nordic Aviation Group) and its subsidiary Regional Jet.
The claim filed in Nordica's bankruptcy proceedings totals €35.7 million, while the claim against Regional Jet stands at nearly €27.5 million.
According to Blumfeldt, it would likely make sense to sell off those claims as well. "But that's more of a question for the owner. There's also the question of timing. The value of the claims depends on the progress of Nordica and Regional Jet's bankruptcy proceedings. Right now, those proceedings are still in the early stages, with the process of verifying claims ongoing. There are still many loose ends. But I think it would be more convenient for the owner — if they decide to liquidate Transpordi Varahaldus — to clear the slate beforehand," Blumfeldt told ERR.
Sander Salmu, deputy secretary general for transport at the Ministry of Climate, said that if Transpordi Varahaldus's assets are sold and the government decides to liquidate the company, the matter of the claims would also have to be resolved.
"In theory, the claims could be sold, written off as unlikely to be collected or retained until the bankruptcy proceedings are concluded. No decision has been made yet and those discussions still lie ahead. At the start of next year, the government will be briefed on the asset sale process, after which further decisions will be made. That process will begin in one way or another in the first few months of next year," Salmu said.
According to Blumfeldt, it would take about nine to twelve months to liquidate Transpordi Varahaldus from the moment the owner makes the decision until the company is officially removed from the register.
Transpordi Varahaldus has been operating since October 2015 and, according to the owner's expectations, has never had any employees.
Since its founding, the company's board members have been Ergo Blumfeldt and Tõnis Tamme, sworn attorneys with the law firm Triniti.
The bankruptcy of Nordica (Nordic Aviation Group AS) marked the end of Estonia's second attempt at a state-owned national carrier. After years of financial struggle, the airline officially ceased operations in late 2024 and was declared bankrupt in early 2025.
--
Editor: Marcus Turovski
