The flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), said Tuesday it is getting an aid package worth $1.5 billion from its main shareholders, to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
SAS said that the aid package is financed by the governments of Sweden and Denmark, as well as by its third main owner, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, a Swedish public and private foundation.
Sweden holds 15% and Denmark 14% of the shares in the airline. The package includes issuing new shares and converting bonds into shares.
SAS stressed that it had taken measures “to radically reduce costs as a result of the decline in demand, which is not expected to return to pre-COVID-19 levels before 2022”.
In April, 90% of the airline’s staff were on temporary lay-offs. CEO Rickard Gustafson warned that the crisis will affect aviation demand for years to come: “In early March, overnight we had a different world to manage. It is a different game now”, Gustafson said.
