JAKARTA- An Indonesian court on Thursday rejected cargo company PT My Indo Airlines' (MYIA) request to restructure the debt of PT Garuda Indonesia  as it failed to meet legal requirements, its lawyer said.

MYIA, a business partner of Garuda, brought Garuda to court in July after Garuda failed to fulfil its obligation to the cargo company. 

Garuda Indonesia, hurt by the pandemic's impact on air travel, reported a loss of around $2 billion in 2020 with its short-term liabilities of $3.4 billion.

"There are matters that needed to be considered further because (the debt) is not an amount that is simple to prove," Asrul Tenriaji Ahmad, a lawyer for MYIA, told Reuters on Thursday.

He said the debt stands despite the court ruling.

"Looking forward, Garuda will continue to focus on restructuring its business and operational obligations, as well as ensuring normal flight operations for passenger and cargo transportation," Garuda said in a statement following the ruling.

To improve its finances, Garuda has said it has discontinued unprofitable international routes and aims to focus on domestic operations. It has also returned a number of planes to lessors as it seeks to slim down its fleet. 

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina; editing by Martin Petty and Jason Neely) ((Fransiska.Nangoy@thomsonreuters.com;))