Air France must slash domestic traffic in exchange for state guarantees -minister

PARIS (Reuters) – Air France will have to “drastically” reduce its domestic air traffic in exchange for state loan guarantees, French Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday.

Domestic routes were served by alternatives in the form of high-speed trains, she noted in an interview with France Inter radio.

The government last month offered the airline a 7 billion euro ($7.6 billion) package made up of state-guaranteed bank loans and loans directly from the state.

In exchange for the loan guarantees, the airline had promised to reduce domestic CO2 emissions by 50% by 2024, Borne added.

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; editing by John Stonestreet)