Enlarge image
Air France machine: green light for higher state participation
Photo: Regis Duvignau / REUTERS
The French airline Air France, which has slipped deeply into the red due to the corona pandemic, is getting help from the state.
The EU Commission in Brussels approved financial aid of up to four billion euros on Tuesday.
In return, the airline must surrender take-off and landing rights at Paris Orly Airport, up to 18 slots per day.
This would allow competitors to expand their offers there, said EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The secure »fair prices« and »a greater choice for European consumers«.
The French economy minister Bruno Le Maire announced that the EU had also given the green light for a higher state participation.
The share can therefore increase from the current 14.3 percent to just under 30 percent.
Air France had a loss of 7.1 billion euros in 2020.
In the first quarter of 2021, the airline and its partner company KLM accumulated a loss of 1.3 billion euros.
CEO Benjamin Smith said the state financial aid from Paris provides "greater stability to get started when the upswing begins".
mik / AFP