France Link

French minister sets environmental conditions for Air France bailout

Air France should become "the most environmentally respectful airline" as a condition to a 7-billion-euro state loan in face of lost business due to the Covid-19 virus epidemic said French economy minister Bruno Le Maire, after the aide package was approved by the European Commission.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

A French government plan to rescue Air France is contingent on the carrier scrapping some domestic flights, the country's economy minister has said, reports BBC News.

Air France should become "the most environmentally respectful airline", Bruno Le Maire told France Inter radio.

The government has approved a 7-billion-euro (£6.15bn) loan to Air France, which has been hit hard by coronavirus curbs.

On Monday, the European Commission approved the proposal, saying it met EU rules on state aid.

In his radio interview, Mr Le Maire said the coronavirus crisis provided an opportunity to "reinvent our model of economic development to ensure it is more respectful of the environment".

He added this meant a number of Air France domestic routes would need to go.

"It is obvious that today a number of domestic routes are no longer justified," he said, without giving further details.

"When you can travel by train in less than two and a half hours, there is no justification for taking a plane."

Like most airlines, Air France has drastically reduced its activities. The company is currently operating about 5% of its usual scheduled flights.

Read more of this report from BBC News.