Europe airline suspensions, country closures 13APR

German unit of Denmark’s Sun-Air files for bankruptcy

easyJet reveals new $1.87bn five-year UK-guaranteed loan

easyJet (U2, London Luton) announced on January 11 “the continued strengthening of its liquidity position” with the signing of a new five-year loan facility worth up to USD1.87 billion, underwritten by a syndicate of banks.

The facility for the cash-strapped carrier is supported by a partial guarantee from the United Kingdom’s export credit agency UK Export Finance under its Export Development Guarantee (EDG) scheme.

The EDG is available to qualifying UK companies, does not carry preferential rates or require state aid approval, and contains some restrictions such as around dividend payments, easyJet said in a statement dated January 8 but published on January 11.

As with other European airlines, easyJet had been pinning its hopes on a recovery in air travel demand this spring, but with most countries back in lockdown, capacity is expected to remain minimal for several more months.

“This facility will significantly extend and improve easyJet’s debt maturity profile and increase the level of liquidity available,” CEO Johan Lundgren said, adding that the company had now secured more than GBP4.5...

Florence, Italy to temporarily close for runway works

IAG adjusts structure to protect Aer Lingus's EU status

IAG International Airlines Group has tweaked its corporate structure to ensure that its Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin Int'l) and Iberia (IB, Madrid Barajas) subsidiaries remain controlled by European Union investors and therefore retain their access to the bloc's internal market.

"These remedial plans were approved by national regulators in Spain and Ireland and, as required, the EU has been notified about them. The plans include the implementation of a national ownership structure for Aer Lingus and changes to the Group's long-standing national ownership structure in Spain," the Madrid-headquartered holding said in a stock market filing.

IAG has long held that Iberia is controlled by Spanish department store chain El Corte Inglés. The Spanish government previously vowed to support the holding in protecting the carrier's "Spanishness".

Irish radio station Newstalk reported that in Ireland, IAG has placed control of Aer Lingus in the hands of a local trust.

As the post-Brexit trade agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom did not waive the bloc's usual control and ownership rules for airlines,...