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Flybe tight-lipped over £100m government loan request

Flybe is remaining tight-lipped about its financial status amid weekend reports had appealed to government for a £100 million loan.

Airports have also reportedly been asked for time to settle unpaid landing fees.

The claims came as it was reported that Companies House filings showed that the regional airline has effectively mortgaged engines and buildings to Global Loans Agency Services, a specialist previously called on by ailing companies such as Thomas Cook.

A decision on whether ministers will agree to provide the loan is expected within thee next two weeks, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

Flybe’s owner Connect Airways – a consortium of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group an Cyrus Capital Partners – has agreed to inject further capital into the carrier as part of the deal. This is understood to amount to £20 million on top of £30 million already pledged in the coming weeks, according to the FT.


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Flybe chief executive Mark Anderson last week indicated that any government loan would be on commercial terms and was not a “bailout”.

This came after the government agreed a rescue deal for Flybe including a short-term deferral of less than £10 million in its Air Passenger Duty and a review of the air tax on domestic routes.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph claimed that Flybe had held a series of emergency meetings with airports such as Birmingham, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton over “millions of pounds” of unpaid landing fees.

A Flybe spokesman said: “We do not comment on our financial matters.”

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