The German state wants to save its important airlines from the Corona bankruptcy. A new KfW loan to Condor is dry, while government aid for the much larger Lufthansa is still being wrestled with.
Brussels / Frankfurt (dpa) - In the Corona crisis, Germany is allowed to keep the Condor holiday plane in the air with new aid of millions. On Monday, the EU Commission approved the new KfW loan program totaling EUR 550 million, which is guaranteed by the federal government and the state of Hesse.
The bridging loan of EUR 380 million, which was approved last autumn, will be completely replaced with long-term financing, according to the company.
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) justified the further support with good prospects for the airline: "In normal times the company was operationally healthy and profitable and has a good future perspective." Representatives of the State of Hesse expressed their strong interest in Condor surviving the crisis as a major employer at Frankfurt Airport.
The EU Commission stressed on Monday that the outbreak of the corona virus was an "extraordinary event" that justified special measures by the EU states. State aid to Condor is expected to offset only part of the pandemic losses, which will be reviewed on the basis of the 2020 profit and loss account. There is therefore no danger that Condor will receive more state aid than it is entitled to.
The airline had to be rescued again in the course of the Corona crisis: the Polish aviation holding company PGL had canceled the takeover of the German leisure airline that had been agreed in January due to its own problems. The Frankfurt-based company Condor, with around 4900 employees and more than 50 aircraft, went into protective shield proceedings after the bankruptcy of the British parent company Thomas Cook in September 2019 and has been renovated in the course of this.
In autumn 2019, Condor had received a bridging loan of EUR 380 million, which was also guaranteed by the federal government and the state of Hesse. A company spokeswoman said that the financing will now be limited to eleven years. Only 256 million euros were drawn from the old loan.
A new sales process for the company will be started when the effects of the corona crisis have been overcome. One cannot give an exact time for this. As a tourism provider, however, one can expect a faster economic recovery than providers of business flights. You want to leave the protective shield procedure as soon as possible.
The pilot union union cockpit was relieved that Condor remained committed to securing employment. "Using Condor as an example, we see that joint action by the state, companies and employees can lead to viable solutions," said VC President Markus Wahl. "We also need such a path for the other German air carriers."
The form of state aid for the much larger Lufthansa, whose financial needs in Berlin are estimated at up to 10 billion euros, is still open. A rescue of both airlines is clearly in the interest of Germany and the German airports, said the president of the airport association ADV and Frankfurt airport boss Stefan Schulte. A competitive and strong Lufthansa must continue to connect Germany to the world in the future. The Dax group had reported a first billion loss last week and, in view of the fact that flight operations remained almost at a standstill, declared that it would no longer be able to save itself.
On Monday, Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer and Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier, two Union politicians spoke out in favor of limiting the state's influence on company decisions, even in the event of massive aid. Lufthansa had proven that it could be successful through "flexible economic action", said Scheuer. He wanted "that this company also remains flexible." Altmaier said on Deutschlandfunk that state influence was "inappropriate" for companies that were competitive before the crisis. However, he opposed supporting companies that want to pay dividends and pay their managers high bonuses.