Skymark Airlines (BC, Tokyo Haneda) has secured up to JPY50 billion yen (USD472 million) in bank loans to prepare itself for the impact of a second wave of the coronavirus, Jiji Press reported.
The carrier agreed with three private banks - Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, Mizuho Bank, and Resona Bank - to extend the repayment deadline for an outstanding JPY30 billion (USD283 million) loan.
This amount was initially borrowed in May. Now it has been repaid and then the same sum re-borrowed once again, this time from the three banks plus the government-owned Development Bank of Japan.
In addition, a further JPY20 billion (USD189 million) credit line was agreed, raising the total financial resources available to Skymark to JPY50 billion. The funds are intended to pay for employee wages and aircraft lease payments.
The loan repayment deadline has also changed, being pushed back from November this year, as agreed earlier, to July 2021.
Skymark Airlines' passenger numbers for May were down 94.5% from the same month last year and 73.9% down year-on-year in June. The LCC has warned that it will suffer a sizable loss in the year to March 2021, and in April it withdrew its listing application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
