The German government has flown to the rescue of Condor, the airline whose future was cast into doubt last year when its mother company, the Thomas Cook travel agency, collapsed. A deal through which the Polish airline LOT was to take over nearly went through in February, but collapsed as the coronavirus pandemic spread, eventually throwing the future of the entire airline industry into doubt. Now, Germany has agreed to lend the company €550m, funds it will use to refinance a bridging loan loan it provided the company last fall. Condor’s loan is backed by the state, something it said was necessary to ensure the company’s continuing liquidity. Germany’s economy minister Peter Altmaier said the airline’s results justified continued support. “The company was operationally healthy and profitable in normal times and has good prospects for the future,” he wrote in a statement. Condor made an operating profit of €57m during 2018/19 on revenues of €1.7bn. Its fleet totals more than 50 aircraft. The government in Berlin has been busy supporting the country’s major airlines, but not always with success. News reports now claim that a deal under which the German state would take a 25 percent stake in the German carrier Lufthansa in return for €9bn in funding fell through after its management rejected it.
