Nine airlines seek billions in bailout funds

Nine carriers have applied for an unprecedented level of state loans, Greenpeace research has shown.

They feature among a total £11.2 billion claim by European airlines because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The figure is revealed in a new “airline bailout tracker” launched by Greenpeace and fellow campaigners Transport & Environment, and Carbon Market Watch. They called for support to be linked to emissions cuts after aviation pollution levels reached a record high before most flights were grounded last month.

The only exception was in Austria, where transport minister Leonore Gewessler said public support for Austrian Airlines, part of Lufthansa, should be linked to climate targets. However, industry body Airlines UK said no other sector had conditions tied to economic support in the crisis.

Airlines with Scottish flights that are seeking help include easyjet (£600 million), SAS (£407m), TUI (£1.58bn) and Norwegian (£23m).

Aviation analyst John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, said: “Airlines are far from knowing what they will fly as the summer unfolds.

“There are so many factors at play, ranging from passenger sentiment to the impact of any requirements on airlines to reduce capacity due to social distancing. Scotland will undoubtedly remain a highly important market for the key airline operators, but it is certainly realistic to assume that capacity will fall and some routes will be lost in this extreme time of crisis for the industry.”

Gilles Dufrasne of Carbon Market Watch said: “It’s time governments stopped throwing money at one of the biggest polluters without expecting anything in return.”