EgyptAir gets $130m loan to combat pandemic impact

Egypt has granted EgyptAir Holding a loan of 2b Egyptian pounds ($130m) to help the national flag carrier ride the devastating financial impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic on the sector. The Egyptian government will bear the financing of the loan until the airline can return to 80% of its pre-COVID-19 capacity. Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said the loan was part of the government’s wider support for the country’s beleaguered industrial sector. Maait pointed out that the funding for the airline was necessary in order for it to survive. “(Airlines) have incurred a total of $651b in debts,” the minister was reported as saying, adding that the sector may not fully recover from the impact of the global health crisis until 2024. Passenger airline traffic in the Middle East showed signs of improvement in October. Figures released by the IATA revealed that the number of people flying on regional airlines during the month was down 86.7% year-on-year compared to the same month in 2019, slightly better than the 89.3% drop in demand for September.<br/>