A rescue of Air France profitable for the French State. The Air France-KLM group, disrupted by the health crisis, benefited from 4 billion euros in loans guaranteed by the State (PGE) in 2021. A massive aid that ultimately contributed 650 million euros to public finances, reports Les Échos . This sum includes, in addition to the early repayment costs, the EMP guarantee premium and the interest on the direct loan of 3,000 million euros from the state shareholder.
To obtain authorization from the European Commission, reluctant to pay massive new public aid for competition reasons, Air France-KLM was forced to accept this EMP guarantee premium, the cost of which progressively increased over time, Les Échos points out. One way for Brussels to pressure the group to return this public aid as soon as possible: similar conditions were imposed on the German airline Lufthansa.
“Fully refunded”
A sum all the more important for Air France-KLM as the interest paid to the banks must also be taken into account. The Franco-Dutch group announced last April that it had “fully repaid” the French state aid. In this way, the group was able to free itself from the limitations imposed by the European Commission in exchange for its commitment to public aid, such as the prohibition of paying dividends or the limitation of acquisitions.
Source: BFM TV
