Germany’s Condor Airline Gets Government Loan
September 24, 2019
Thomas Cook-owned airline Condor has received the backing of the German government and the state of Hesse with a bridging loan to secure its operations over the quieter winter travel period.
The EUR€380 million (USD$418 million) loan, which is subject to approval from the European Commission, is for a period of six months.
The German airline applied for the loan to prevent any “liquidity bottlenecks”, resulting from the insolvency of its former British parent Thomas Cook group.
“Condor is a healthy and profitable company, which will also record a positive result in the current year,” Condor’s chief executive Ralf Teckentrup said.
“Because our liquidity for the seasonal weaker winter booking period was used up by our insolvent parent company, we need this bridge financing for the coming winter season. This decision is an important step towards securing the future of our business.”
Condor intends to apply for a form of insolvency protection in Germany to allow it to restructure as an independent airline.
“As a profitable company with a positive cash flow and good business development, we are using the shielding procedure to protect ourselves from possible claims of our former British parent company, Thomas Cook Group.”
Condor said its flights and ticket sales were operating as normal.