Condor Flugdienst GmbH is to receive a rescue loan amounting €380 million (US $419 million) from the German federal government and the state government of Hesse. The loan is currently pending approval by the European Commission, before it would be paid out by Germany’s KfW bank.
This loan is needed in order to avoid funding bottlenecks over the traditionally weak winter season, following the insolvency of the airline’s owner Thomas Cook Group plc, Condor says.
The German leisure carrier has kept flight operations running and asked the government for a bridging loan while its owner entered liquidation and ceased operations. Sister airline Thomas Cook Airlines UK grounded all flights immediately after the announcement of insolvency on early Monday morning.
Condor has also applied for protection proceedings, to become completely independent from the Thomas Cook Group. This would protect the carrier from possible claims by its parent company.
The 1955-founded airline, which joined Thomas Cook in 2003, has more than 4,000 employees and currently operates a fleet of 58 aircraft, consisting of Airbus A320, A321, Boeing 757-300 and 767-300ER. It has bases at seven German airports, with long-haul flights from Frankfurt and Munich.
Jakob Wert is an aviation journalist from Germany. He built up the website IFN.news and is the Editor-In-Chief of International Flight Network.
