BERLIN (Reuters) - The German Economy Ministry on Monday said it would take time for the federal government and two state governments to evaluate Air Berlin's (>> Air Berlin Plc) request for state loan guarantees.

"The process is underway. Now the formal paperwork must be submitted," spokeswoman Beate Baron told a regular government news conference. "The review will take several weeks and months. It depends on how quickly the documents are submitted, and how comprehensive they are."

The German federal government stepped in on Friday, a day after Air Berlin said it had asked the states of Berlin and North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) to consider loan guarantees. It said any support would be contingent on a sustainable business model for the struggling airline.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Michael Nienaber)

Stocks treated in this article : Deutsche Lufthansa, Air Berlin Plc