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The European Commission has approved a €1.4 billion fund as an aid to compensate Air France for the hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a press release by the EU Commission, the aid is designated to compensate for damages the airline suffered between March 17 and June 30, 2020, as many travel restrictions were imposed on the sector, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The new decision comes after €7 billion was dedicated to liquidity support for Air France, which the EU Commission authorised on May 4, 2020. In addition, another €4 billion were designated to recapitalize the airline, cleared by the Commission on April 6, 2021. The aid will also be granted in several tranches and may be in grants, cash support or equity support.
“The Commission has examined the measure under Article 107(2)(b ) TFEU, which allows it to authorize State aid granted by Member States to compensate certain companies or sectors for damage caused directly by extraordinary events, such as the coronavirus pandemic. On this basis, the Commission concluded that the French compensation measure was in line with EU state aid rules,” the press release explains.
Almost 1,580 workers at Air France, who have lost their jobs due to the Coronavirus pandemic will receive €17.7 million fund as aid. The support provided to these workers includes career guidance, job search assistance, advisory and customised vocational training to learn new skills in their profession. Participants would also receive tips on starting their business and initial grants of €15,000.
These measures can cost up to €21 million of which EGF, a special EU instrument for EU solidarity to assist European workers or self-employers that were displaced to find new occupations.
EGF has a budget of €210 million for the next four years and can finance between 60 and 85 per cent of the costs of projects intended to help workers find new jobs.
According to data by Air France KLM Group, the second quarter of 2022 shows positive indicators as €386 million were generated, and net income reached €324 million, showing a €1.8 billion increase compared to the corresponding time in the preceding year.
In general, comparing data to the second quarter of 2021, Air France received 22,803 passengers, representing a 224.5 per cent increase while traffic rose by 243.4 per cent to a total of 61,365.
Revenues were also up by 138.7 per cent, totalling up to €6,707 during the second quarter while the whole half of 2022 reached a total of 123.8 per cent increase.
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