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Swiss and his sister Edelweiss have received 1.5 billion francs in government aid. But the money is slipping through the fingers of those responsible. According to its own information, Switzerland burns 1.5 million francs a day. Extrapolated a year, that’s more than 500 million francs.
Contrary to forecasts, there is no income. The crown crisis is proving to be more persistent than was assumed months ago. Hopes have been dashed that flight operations will slowly intensify again since the summer and that most long-haul flights will be operational again in the fall.
On the contrary, the number of Swiss flights has been decreasing since July, according to the “SonntagsZeitung”. With the ongoing cash outflow, further financial aid would be more likely to be received for Switzerland, and also for parent company Lufthansa, which loses € 500 million per month.
The parent company will soon be in danger of running out of air too
According to Swiss spokeswoman Karin Müller, the 1.5 billion loan from a banking consortium, which is 85 percent guaranteed by the federal government, is enough for Swiss and Edelweiss for the next crisis years.
But behind the scenes you can hear from Swiss management circles that the money “might run out.” Consequently, Lufthansa also expects the airline to run out of air soon. As of today, liquidity should be exhausted before the end of the year and new aid will be needed.
The crucial question remains how long the quarantines and travel restrictions remain in effect. Furthermore, the airline will need much more than 1.5 million francs a day when the short-term job expires. Currently, the entire workforce works part-time.
Quarantine problem
According to the federal finance administration, Swiss has yet to receive a request for new state aid. But around the Federal Council, a new application is expected in the coming weeks if the income situation does not improve by the turn of the year.
The airline is apparently making the biggest breakthrough on bills, the quarantine rule problem. Only when rapid tests allow for the abolition of the quarantine rule can stabilization be expected, according to airline circles.
Also, the Bund’s hands appear tied. After taking on a guarantee of 1,275 million Swiss francs, he was unable to refuse a new application for an additional aid loan.
Radical austerity measures?
The situation looks desperate and may call for radical austerity measures, especially as the federal government is demanding a high profit from Switzerland in bailout loan contracts.
The airline says it wants to avoid layoffs. A 15 percent cut in wages should prevent job cuts. But that’s only possible if employees are willing to cut their wages, retire early, and work part-time. 1,425 out of a total of 9,000 jobs are at risk.
If the crown crisis continues into the new year, Switzerland doesn’t seem able to avoid layoffs. Also at Lufthansa, the cuts of 22,000 jobs out of a total of 135,000 announced in August have already been wasted. According to senior management, 5,000 additional jobs will need to be cut, 1,100 of them just for pilots. (kes)
