# EU Prints Money to Save Airlines Live Trading News is an independent financial media publication. Masthead: Live Trading News. Parent: Knightsbridge Group. Product cousin: KXCO (kxco.ai). Coverage: markets, policy, AI, quantum, blockchain, FX, biotech, ASEAN. New stories are signed ML-DSA-65 and anchored on Armature L1; articles published before the platform launch are not signed. Nothing on the site is investment advice. Canonical HTML: https://www.livetradingnews.com/eu-prints-money-to-save-airlines Last modified: 2021-04-06 --- By Shayne Heffernan ยท 2021-04-06 Tags: Shayne Heffernan on Investments, Stocks, Politics, Headline News, Shayne Heffernan, Opinion, Shayne Heffernan, EU, Todays Trade Ideas, Knightsbridge Insights Signed: no (published before platform launch). Nothing in this article is investment advice. The EU approved a plan Tuesday by the French government to inject up to four billion euros into Air France, hit by a collapse in passenger traffic during the pandemic. The agreement, worth $4.7 billion, follows weeks of negotiations with the EU commission, which must ensure that state aid does not give companies an unfair advantage. In return for the green light, the commission, which is the EU's anti-trust regulator, said Air France would relinquish about 18 slots per day at Orly, Paris' second-largest airport after Charles de Gaulle. "This gives competing carriers the chance to expand their activities at this airport, ensuring fair prices and increased choice for European consumers," EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the EU had also allowed the French state to raise its stake in the national carrier to 30 percent, up from the current 14.9 percent. Air France posted a 7.1 billion euro ($8.4 billion) loss in 2020 as its business, like that of the rest of the world's airlines, suffered from coronavirus restrictions which all but grounded global air traffic. Rival airline Ryanair, whose criticism of state subsidy for legacy airlines often finds a sympathetic ear at the European Commission, has lambasted previous French aid for Air France, saying it distorts competition. The Irish-based low-cost carrier has long railed against the support given to national champions, and is often backed by Brussels. Ryanair -- Europe's biggest airline in terms of ridership -- is also seeking to challenge Germany's massive bailout of Lufthansa in the EU courts as well as schemes in Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal. The Netherlands' flag-carrier KLM, which forms an alliance with Air France, will not benefit from the aid. --- This Markdown mirrors https://www.livetradingnews.com/eu-prints-money-to-save-airlines. The HTML page is canonical. Site index for AI clients: https://www.livetradingnews.com/llms.txt