Finance minister against state-guaranteed loan for Smartwings

Finance Minister Alena Schillerová has said she would not support a state-guaranteed loan for the Smartwings aviation group.

She voiced the stand in a debate on Prima TV in connection with a report on the news site Lidovky.cz according to which the company is preparing to ask the state for a loan of 900 million crowns.

In line with a rescue plan debated by the company’s executive board, the company’s shareholders should invest roughly one billion crowns towards its consolidation.

The Smartwings Group served 8.2 million passengers last year. It is now facing severe financial problems due to the decline in air travel due to the coronavirus crisis.