Austrian Airlines Manages to Pay State Loan Ahead of Schedule
Austrian Airlines has announced that it plans to repay the government loan that was granted back in 2020 in order to recover from the damages caused by the spread of the Coronavirus and its new variants.
Air traffic has started to recuperate following the easing of travel restrictions which were previously introduced to halt the spread of the Coronavirus and protect citizens’ lives, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Due to the amelioration of the COVID-19 situation, Austrian Airlines managed to welcome a large number of passengers and was eligible to repay the government loan granted by Austria in July 2020 ahead of schedule.
According to a report by Vindobona, of the initial 300 million euros were still outstanding; instead, a credit line was kept from the parent company Lufthansa.
In this regard, AUA CEO Annette Mann said that it was proud to be able to repay the loan ahead of schedule, “even though the deep financial scars of the pandemic will not be fully healed for a few years.”
At least 687 million were registered in the third quarter of this year, or twice as strong as the same period last year’s figures, in terms of revenues, while in the previous year there were 304 million euros.
Austrian Airlines’ total revenue for the summer months was 718 million euros or more than four million travellers and thus 73 per cent more than the figures of the same period last year, during which year there were 2.3 million.
Even though there were significant challenges in European mid-summer travel, Austrian flights took off the regularity of a total of 99.2 per cent.
The repayment of the government-backed loan was initially planned for the end of 2025, while it was granted in July 2020 amid the spread of COVID-19 and strict travel bans and restrictions imposed due to the virus.
“The Austrian team has fought for this result itself despite strong headwinds. We are proud to be able to repay the government-backed loan in full ahead of schedule thanks to this team performance,” Austrian Airlines CEO Annette Mann pointed out in this regard.
Authorities in Austria announced that a total of 12 million overnight stays were registered in the first two months of summer, May and June, which was the closest to the levels reached before the spread of COVID-19.
The tourism industry significantly recovered this summer, almost reaching pre-pandemic levels, despite the difficulties caused by the COVID situation.
