Germany says it needs an aviation ‘champion’

Germany’s Lufthansa is considering buying a majority of insolvent Air Berlin’s aircraft, two people familiar with the matter said, as the government and rivals race to carve it up.

Airberlin,germany’ssecond-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.

The insolvency comes as many Germans enjoy summer holidays, and just ahead of a September general election, both factors which have put pressure on the German government to help minimise travel disruptions and job losses.

Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt backed Lufthansa to buy a major portion of Air Berlin’s assets, saying Germany needed a “national champion” in international aviation. “That is why it is urgently necessary that Lufthansa can take over significant parts of Air Berlin,” he told daily newspaper Rheinische Post. Berlin has granted a bridging loan of 150 million euros to Air Berlin.