Air France aircraft at Roissy, during containment. – Jacques Witt / SIPA
Air France-KLM will reduce the offer on French national flights by 40% by 2021, with the closure of several destinations, announced the CEO of the airline, Benjamin Smith, at the general meeting held on Tuesday. . “The domestic network will undergo an accelerated transformation”, he declared, a decision which responds to a request from the State which, after having provided Air France with financial support of 7 billion euros, had asked it to improve its profitability and its environmental impact, and to start thinking about its network in France.
“Capacity will be reduced by 40% over the period between now and 2021, with the closure of destinations, when there is a rail alternative within 2.5 hours and when this service does not supply the Roissy-Charles hub -De-Gaulle, ”said Benjamin Smith.
Very bleak prospects
The Franco-Dutch transporter, whose activity was almost shut down by the coronavirus crisis,
shows a net loss of 1.8 billion euros in the first quarter and looks very bleak until the third quarter.
Terrified by the crisis caused by border closures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Air France was granted by the French State support of 7 billion euros, including 4 billion bank loans guaranteed at 90% by l ‘State and 3 billion direct loan from the State, with in return commitments on improving its profitability and on the environmental level. The French company must reduce CO2 emissions on its domestic flights by 50% by 2024.
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