PARIS (Reuters) – The French government will continue to support airline company Air France-KLM if necessary, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday.
Attal, holding a news conference after a cabinet meeting, was asked about a report that Air France-KLM was discussing plans to raise another 6 billion euros ($7.1 billion) from its two government shareholders and other investors.
The company received 10.4 billion euros in state-backed bailouts from France and the Netherlands earlier this year to help it cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The state has always strongly supported Air France since the beginning of the crisis”, Attal said, adding the company had ongoing talks with France’s finance ministry.
Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Matthieu Protard, editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter