Air France-KLM secures billions in government aid
Air France-KLM has secured at least €9bn (£7.9bn; $9.7bn) in government aid, as the Franco-Dutch airline group struggles to remain afloat because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The French authorities said Air France would get €3bn in loans and another €4bn in state-guaranteed funds.
Meanwhile, the Dutch government said it had been preparing between €2bn and €4bn in aid to KLM.
Major world airlines all but halted passenger traffic all over the world.
But they still need to pay to park and keep maintaining planes that have been grounded.
Earlier this season, Air France-KLM estimated the outbreak would cost the group between €150m and €200m in February-April.
Company Chief Executive Ben Smith warned on Friday that the federal government aid was "not really a blank cheque" and would require tough action on costs and performance, Reuters news agency reports.
"This financing will give us the possibility to rebuild. Confronted with the upheaval the world is certainly going through, we are going to need to rethink our model immediately," he added.
The group is the consequence of a merger between Air France and KLM in 2004.
With a fleet of 550 aircraft, it covers 312 destinations in 116 countries all over the world. In 2018, Air France-KLM's passenger traffic exceeded 100 million.
