Sunwing taps government program for $375m loan

Sunwing has turned to one of the federal government’s pandemic programs, a $375m emergency loan, days after flights to the Caribbean and Mexico were suspended through April 30. The government said Monday that Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing will now have access to $375m in liquidity. The loan is through the government’s Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF), a program aimed at providing large companies that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic with bridge financing. Under the terms of the loan, Sunwing has agreed to maintain an account with the money it received from customers for travel that was cancelled due to the pandemic. The federal government has stressed that it will provide financial aid for the battered aviation industry only if airlines provide refunds to passengers whose flights were cancelled as a result of COVID-19. “This account will be maintained until the government's broader discussions with the airline industry conclude and a policy is established for the treatment of these prepaid amounts,” read a statement from the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation, which operates the LEEFF program. LEEFF, which was first introduced last May, offers loans of $60m or more to large businesses facing cash problems as a result of the pandemic. But the program has proven unpopular among big businesses, as it comes with an interest rate that is above typical private-sector lending rates.<br/>