British airline easyJet has expanded its operations in Germany with the purchase of a part of Air Berlin‘s operations at Berlin Tegel airport, providing a solution for the bankrupt carrier’s remaining assets.
EasyJet, a low-cost carrier based in London, will enter leases for 25 A320 aircraft, add take-off and landing spots, and hire new staff as part of the expansion, Reuters reported Friday. The announcement came shortly after Air Berlin’s last flight landed at Tegel.
EasyJet made the purchase for 40 million euros ($46.43 million), but additional financing is required since transition costs are not included, according to Reuters.
Air Berlin said Saturday that the deal completes the final negotiations for its dissolution, which will split up the assets of Germany’s second-largest airline and Europe’s tenth-largest in terms of passengers carried. The carrier said that it had been in talks with easyJet since early summer, according to Reuters.
With the deal complete, easyJet will now be the leading carrier in the German capital. The airline had previously only operated out of Berlin Schoenefeld airport.
“This will enable easyJet to operate the leading short haul network at Tegel connecting passengers to and from destinations across Germany and the rest of Europe,” easyJet said in a statement.
The remaining assets and operation will be taken over by Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline, which will take over 81 Air Berlin aircrafts and 3,000 of its employees after making a 1.5 billion euro ($1.8 billion) investment earlier this month.
