The European Commission has approved a €1,4bn (R27,2bn) French aid measure to compensate Air France for damages suffered due to the COVID pandemic.
The measure aims to compensate the airline for damages suffered between March 17 and June 30, 2020, due to the COVID pandemic and the travel restrictions put in place to limit the spread of the virus.
France said the airline had incurred significant operating losses and experienced a steep decline in traffic and profitability over this period.
The aid will be granted in several tranches and may take the forms of grants, equity support, or liquidity support.
It comes after the €7bn (R136,1bn) liquidity support for Air France that the Commission approved on May 4, 2020, as well as the €4bn (R77,8bn) measure to recapitalise the airline that the Commission had approved on April 6, 2021.
The Commission concluded that the latest round of compensation was in line with EU State aid rules after it found the French measure would make good the damage directly linked to the COVID outbreak, and that the compensation did not exceed what was necessary to make good the damage.
