OTTAWA — The Parliamentary Budget Officer says the federal government could make about $177 million over ten years from a support deal it reached with **********.

The PBO estimate is based on ********** using only part of the $5.9-billion aid package that the ******* agreed to with the government in April 2021.

The package included the government taking a six per cent stake in the ******* for $500 million, $1.5 billion in secured credit, $2.475 billion in unsecured credit, plus another $1.4 billion in unsecured credit intended to ****** travellers impacted by ********.

The PBO forecast is based on ********** using about $1.2 billion of the funds intended to ****** travellers, but not using the other available credit.

********** has said it would keep the government credit as insurance while going ahead with other refinancing options. On Wednesday, the ******* announced it had completed a $7.1-billion refinancing transaction.

The deal with Ottawa required that ********** ****** passengers whose flights were cancelled due to ********, while further restrictions would be imposed if the ******* were to access the other credit facilities.