Air Nostrum yesterday became the fourth Spanish airline to receive state aid to deal with the devastating effects of the pandemic crisis on company accounts. Everything is now ready for the Council of Ministers to approve the concession to the Valencian airline of a participative loan of 111 million euros by the Support Fund for the Solvency of Strategic Companies that SEPI has been managing for nearly two years. The fund's governing council announced yesterday its approval of the operation.
The fund was announced in July 2020 in the context of the strong restrictions on mobility that completely depressed the economy – GDP fell by 11% that year – and air activity. Then came the operations of Air Europa, which ended up receiving 475 million, and the controversial Plus Ultra, with another 53 million. Months later, the Wamos tour operator, also with aviation operations, would be added to this group. Now it is the turn of the regional airline Air Nostrum.
Like the sector as a whole, the Bertomeu family company suffered the collapse of its activity, especially in 2020, when its business fell by 40% and losses exceeded 140 million. At the end of that year, Carlos Bertomeu, president of the airline, announced a plan to reduce salary costs and adapt the fleet to the reality of the market.
Finally, after months of study, Air Nostrum formally requested help from the SEPI fund in April of last year, more than a year ago. And yesterday, thirteen months later, the final approval arrived. In a statement, SEPI explained that the operation will take place "after an exhaustive and rigorous process of analyzing the economic and legal situation of the company, the impact it has suffered from covid, the viability plan, as well as the prospects evolution of the group and the guarantees provided to ensure the return of the temporary public financial support”.
According to the note, Air Nostrum was in a situation of equity deficit at the end of 2020, that is, it had negative own funds. Most of SEPI's operations with this fund have been carried out by dividing the contributed resources between a participative loan for 51% of the total –the minimum established by the decree– and an ordinary loan for the remaining 49%. In this case, however, everything is participatory.
Bertomeu said yesterday that he was very happy with the help that will allow the company to overcome "an unexpected situation" caused by the pandemic, which broke "a trajectory of financial strength and six years of continuous profits." According to the manager, the airline continues to focus on consolidating its position as "a benchmark in the field of European regional aviation".
