Air Berlin said it had repaid part of the loan on Dec. 15 but declined to say how much.

The Economy Ministry declined to comment on how and when the loan was to be repaid.

The government said last week that it may not recover all of the loan after a deal to sell parts of the airline to Lufthansa (>> Lufthansa Group) fell through.

(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; additional reporting by Rene Wagner; writing by Maria Sheahan; editing by Jason Neely)

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