Swiss government agrees aid for aviation sector: Tages-Anzeiger

ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss government has agreed in principle to support an aid package worth around 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.54 billion) for Lufthansa unit Swiss via state-backed bank loans, the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The formal plan, which still needs final agreement on details such as the future size of Swiss’s fleet, is set to be announced on Wednesday, the paper said without identifying its sources.

The government also backs an aid package for other aviation sector companies worth around 500 million francs in loans and guarantees, the paper said.

Progress towards coronavirus bailouts buoyed the shares of Lufthansa and Air France-KLM on Monday, as the protracted travel slump turned up the heat on rival carriers yet to secure financing needed to tide them through the pandemic.

(Reporting by Michael Shields)