Aegean Airlines
The Greek government in November set out plans to provide up to €120 million ($146 million) in state support for Aegean Airlines as part of a wider capital increase. Under the plan, the Greek state would receive warrants for the purchase of shares in the company. The European Commission approved the Greek investment, which is being made via a direct grant, on 23 December.
Air Baltic
The Latvian government’s €250 million recapitalisation of Air Baltic was approved by European regulators in July. The move took the Latvian state’s holding in the airline from 80% to above 96%. The state will receive an appropriate remuneration for the investment and there are additional mechanisms to incentivise Air Baltic to buy back the state’s equity participation obtained as a result of the recapitalisation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the world. It has put strain on healthcare systems, the service sector, international relations and much more. No country or industry has avoided its wrath. But without a doubt, one of the worst-hit sectors is travel and tourism. Airlines in Europe and elsewhere have large numbers of their fleets grounded due to travel restrictions and some of the biggest names in the industry have announced staff redundancies due to lack of funds. The one silver lining to restricted travel is the time it has given the aviation industry to improve and consider new ways to lower its carbon footprint.
How Emirates Airlines are weathering the storm of the pandemic euronews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from euronews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.