The European Commission (EC) approved the Romanian Government’s state aid for troubled private airline Blue Air.

The state aid will be in the form of guarantees for loans worth EUR 62 million.

"The aviation sector has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This EUR 62 million loan guarantee will allow Romania to partially compensate Blue Air for the damages incurred as a result of the pandemic. At the same time, the guarantee will provide the company with the necessary resources to cover some of the urgent and immediate liquidity needs it faces. This will avoid disruption to passengers and ensure regional connectivity, especially for the significant number of Romanian citizens working abroad and for many small local businesses that depend on affordable tickets offered by Blue Air on a network of routes developed to meet their specific needs,” said EC vice president Margrethe Vestager.

Of the EUR 62 mln loan guarantees, EUR 28 mln will cover the damages incurred by Blue Air due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel restrictions imposed by Romania and other EU states. The remaining EUR 34 mln covers a rescue loan that partially covers the company’s liquidity needs.

Blue Air is a Romanian private airline that also operates in Italy and Cyprus. It has a fleet of 18 aircraft and serves 92 routes in 15 countries, with over 4 million passengers transported in 2019.

The European Commission hasn’t announced yet its decision related to a similar state aid worth EUR 60 mln for Romanian state airline Tarom.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Blue Air)