Air France-KLM’s recovery from the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic will last at least until 2021, the company’s CEO Benjamin Smith predicted in an interview with the French newspaper Les Echos.
In particular, he indicated that this month the company’s operations constitute “only 2% to 3% of the normal program for the month of April,” and stated that the company will not be able to return to normal until “within two years, such maybe even a little more ».
“It will depend on the reopening of the borders, but also on how long it will take our clients to return to the planes,” added Smith.
At the same time, the businessman highlighted the critical role of the almost 11,000 million dollars provided to the Franco-Dutch group by Paris and Amsterdam.
“Thanks to this support, we have the means to overcome the most difficult period in the coming months, during which our liquidity risked reaching a critical level, and continue operating for between 12 and 18 months,” said Smith.
Air France-KLM, created in 2004 after the merger of airlines Air France (France) and KLM (Netherlands), is one of the largest aviation companies in the world. According to Forbes, it is the fifth globally for its sales value and the seventh for the size of its assets. The commercial value of the company is $ 5.3 billion.
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