Tus Airways has asked for €15m in state support in the form of either a loan or guarantees in order to create a strong Cypriot airline, Petros Theocharides reports for Phileleftheros.
The airline’s management held a meeting with Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos during which it set out its views on its survival through the establishment of a Cypriot airline with the participation of the owners of Tus Airways and another airline, and possibly the state, the paper said.
Such a plan would require an investment of €15m which it asked for in any form, possibly through state guarantees or a loan to be taken out by the airline.
Should the government agree, Tus would undertake the initiative to set up such a Cypriot airline company. As examples it cited the decision of the German government to support Lufthansa following huge losses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Transport Minister told Phileleftheros said that he had outlined the government’s decision to offer €6.3m in incentives to boost Cyprus’ connectivity. This was a scheme available to all airlines which he is convinced will be successful, he said.
As regards state guarantees and loans of €15 m he referred the airline to the Finance Ministry.
Tus Airways has suspended its flight schedule with the approval of the Transport Ministry since October 2019.
The company’s management has also recently met Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou and asked that staff be included in the government’s support scheme so that the jobs can be saved.
