France Unveils $4.7Bln Aid For Air France After EU's Greenlight

France will provide up to 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) in assistance to the pandemic-hit flag carrier Air France, the minister of the economy and finance said on Tuesday, after the European Commission approved the proposed rescue package following tense talks

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2021) France will provide up to 4 billion Euros ($4.7 billion) in assistance to the pandemic-hit flag carrier Air France, the minister of the economy and finance said on Tuesday, after the European Commission approved the proposed rescue package following tense talks.

On Sunday, Paris announced that it had reached an agreement in principle with the European executive body on the financial support package. To allay the EU's antitrust concerns, the carrier will give up 18 take-off and landing slots at Paris Orly airport.

"We will convert 3 billion euros worth of long-term state aid for Air France into hybrid instruments," Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Inter radio.

The second part of the rescue package will see the state acquire the airline's shares.

"The state will participate in increasing the capital of the airline, it will be able to grow by up to 1 billion euros," the minister specified.

Last year, the Air France-KLM Group, the merger of the French and Dutch airlines, reported a 7.1 billion euro ($8.3 billion) loss as a result of the pandemic impact. The company has received several billion euros in state aid from France and the Netherlands to deal with the post-coronavirus shocks.