Turkey's wealth fund in talks over urgent support for hard-hit Turkish Airlines - sources

Turkey's wealth fund is in talks to provide emergency funding to flag carrier Turkish Airlines, one of the country's hardest-hit companies when the coronavirus pandemic halted nearly all flights, four sources told Reuters. The sources close to the matter said the company, which flies to more destinations worldwide than any other airline, could receive capital or financing support, though nothing had yet been finalised. It was unclear how much funding the Turkey Wealth Fund (TVF) could make available in what one source called a “bailout”. TVF declined to comment. In a statement to the stock exchange, Turkish Airlines said the company had not received any information regarding talks being conducted for the provision of capital or financing support to the company. Turkish Airlines posted a loss of 2.23b lira ($287m) in Q2 when lockdowns at home and abroad were most widespread. It has agreed with a labour union to cut wages by 30-50% until the end of 2021 but avoided layoffs. “It is very clear that Turkish Airlines is in need of a bailout programme. This could be capital support or financing support,” one of the sources said. The source added that TVF conducted a broader study of struggling Turkish companies in the transportation and tourism sectors, suggesting other bailouts could be forthcoming.<br/>