Air Seychelles (HM, Mahé) is to receive help from the Government of the Seychelles, as it seeks to gain a bank guarantee, which would allow the national airline to pay off its debt of more than USD30 million to Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International).
According to the Seychelles News Agency (SNA), under the agreement, the debt from 2018 will be converted into non-voting preference shares, which in turn are secured by a guarantee by Barclays Bank and the Trade & Development Bank.
“The government is seeking to secure the bank guarantee for preferential shares due to the debt Air Seychelles has accumulated over the years. Negotiations with two banks are ongoing with a view to finalise by the end of November,” Didier Dogley, the Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Port and Marine, told reporters on November 14.
In 2017, Etihad contributed USD34 million, and in 2018 it injected another USD30 million to help Air Seychelles in its transformation plan. The national carrier is jointly-owned by the Government of Seychelles (60%) and Etihad Aviation Group's EAG Investment Holding Company Limited (EAGIHC) (40%).
The airline's last published accounts date from FY2017 when it posted losses of USD75.7 million.
Despite its poor financial results, the airline received its first A320-200neo on lease in the summer, S7-VEV (msn 8972), the first of the type delivered to an African carrier, and it will return to the Middle East market later this month when it commences a once-weekly service to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion.
