19th September 2012

Commission approves restructuring aid for Czech Airlines

The European Commission has concluded that restructuring aid of CZK 2.5 bn that the Czech authorities provided to the Czech state-owned air carrier company Czech Airlines was in line with EU state aid rules. In April 2009, the state-owned company Osinek had granted the loan of a total amount of CZK 2.5 bn on market conditions to Czech Airlines.

However, the Czech government announced that they plan to restructure Czech Airlines with the help of state aid in May 2010. In June 2010, a debt-to-equity swap of a CZK 2.5 billion (€100 million) loan from the state-owned company Osinek was carried out in favor of Czech Airlines.

The Commission's investigation found that the 5-year restructuring plan based on capacity reduction, the sale of planes and the surrender of landing slots at European airports and other cost reductions should enable Czech Airlines to become feasible again.

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Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic