The Union Finance Ministry approved a loan of up to Rs 15 billion under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to assist airlines in dealing with cash flow issues.

Previously, an airline could obtain a loan of up to Rs 4 billion under the ECLGS. The ECLGS was established by the Centre in 2020 to give collateral-free and government-guaranteed loans to businesses affected by the pandemic.

The Finance Ministry's decision is likely to aid financially troubled airlines like SpiceJet, who have been seeking support from the Centre to run their operations. The airline received an ECLGS loan of roughly Rs 2.25 billion last month.