Air Berlin (1991) (Berlin Tegel) has asked the governments of Berlin and North-Rhine Westphalia for a guarantee application, reports Reuters, quoting an Air Berlin spokesperson. This is the first step required in a bid to ask the governments of those states to guarantee its debts.

The news follows on from confirmation this week that TUI Group and Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) have called off talks to establish a leisure carrier, a deal which would have seen the Gulf carrier purchasing Air Berlin's 49.8% stake in Niki (Austria) (Vienna) for EUR300 million (USD337 million).

With that source of cash now no longer a possibility, Air Berlin is looking at other avenues.

Last month, Etihad, which is a majority shareholder in Air Berlin, extended a loan of EUR350 million (USD393 million) to the cash-strapped German carrier, bringing Etihad's total exposure to Air Berlin to almost EUR2 billion (USD2.2 billion).

At the close of 2016, Air Berlin was left with operating losses of EUR667 million (USD748 million), more than double 2015's losses. Its net debt now stands at EUR1.18 billion (USD1.3 billion).