Jet2 eligible for up to £200m Covid funding, hails rise in summer bookings

Low-cost airline Jet2 confirmed on Friday that is eligible for up to £200m of funding under the Treasury and Bank of England's Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) as it hailed a rise in recent summer bookings.

Last October, CCFF eligibility requirements were amended to include, among other things, an updated investment grade requirement to reflect the impact of the pandemic. As a result, the Treasury conducted a review process with the company to see whether it remained eligible for the CCFF.

"With that process now complete, we are pleased to announce that Jet2 plc has been re-confirmed as an eligible issuer for the CCFF for up to £200m," it said. Jet2 said it plans to issue the full amount of commercial paper through the CCFF prior to the closure of the scheme on 22 March. This will be used to provide standby liquidity if required.

Executive chairman Philip Meeson said: "The group is grateful to both the Bank of England and HM Treasury for the CCFF, the ongoing provision of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and, together with the responsible liquidity actions already taken by the business, this provides the group with additional headroom to deal with the ongoing cost of disruption to our sector, ensuring we can continue to support our great business through this challenging period."

Jet2 said its liquidity position was strong. As at 7 March and with the CCFF undrawn, it had unaudited total cash of £1.19bn.

The company also said it had recently seen a "notable" rise in bookings for Summer 2021 in line with the more recent positive news. While it’s still early, Jet2 said it continues to be encouraged by the volume of its customer bookings for both Winter 21/22 and Summer 2022.