The government of Portugal has indicated that it will intervene to help ensure the survival of national carrier TAP.
According to reporting by Portuguese newspaper Publico, Secretary of State of Parliamentary Affairs Pedro Nuno Santos said the airline will not survive if it isn’t given aid.
Secretary Santos, however, stated that any intervention would have consequences for the current company’s corporate structure. The government holds a 50 per cent stake in the company already and this intervention would likely see the government increase its holding.
In other airline news:
- Austrian Airlines has announced that it now doesn’t intend to resume services until June. The Austrian flag carrier hasn’t operated any scheduled services in over a month due to the current situation.
- From Monday, Lufthansa will require all passengers to wear face coverings onboard flights.
- With international arrivals banned since March and all flying suspended until the end of the month, Thailand is one of the most affected aviation markets in the current crisis. Now, eight airlines have got together to ask for support from the Finance Ministry.
- Finnair is losing around €2 million per day as the coronavirus pandemic continues to decimate airline profits. To help combat the decline in revenue, Finnair announced today in its first-quarter report that it plans to raise €500 million through a rights offering.
- American Airlines has partnered with the Let’s Empower Employment (LEE) initiative to provide meals for restaurant workers who are currently facing limited hours or no work due to business closures. All in all, American donated 25,000 meals to this initiative in Chicago and Washington, DC.
- The government of India has extended the deadline for bids for Air India. The new date, 30 June, gives potential bidders two more months to submit an offer for the state-run carrier.
- Copa Airlines is currently expecting to operate just 12 per cent of its original schedule in June. The Panamanian airline also said yesterday that it might not have enough liquidity to survive the crisis.
