Air Austral may blow momentarily : the company has 6 months to present a restructuring plan, according to the European Commission. On January 18, the latter gave the green light to a rescue measure announced at the end of August 2021 : the payment by the State of a loan of 20 million euros, complementary to the 80 million PGE already contracted by Air Austral. But not under any conditions. The Commission's guidelines on state aid for rescue and restructuring allow Member States to help companies in difficulty provided, notably, that public support measures be limited in time, well targeted, and proportionate. “Companies must pay appropriate remuneration to the State and the negative effect of measures on competition must be limited, underlines the Commission. In the present case, France has demonstrated that the amount of the loan is proportionate to the financing needs. Furthermore, the loan, the maturity of which is set at six months, will be accompanied by a sufficiently remunerative interest rate”. Brussels therefore gives the green light, considering that “the loan will preserve the company's activities in the short term and will help to avoid immediate losses”. The Commission appears to have received assurances from the State : “In the absence of reimbursement within six months after the date of grant, France has undertaken to notify, either a restructuring plan to restore the long-term viability of the company, or a plan leading to the exit of Air Austral from the market”, she continues in her press release. Air Austral reacted the next day by estimating that the 20 million from the State should allow it to “secure its cash flow and prepare for the future”. The company announces that it is already working on “a restructuring plan which guarantees the continuity of its activity in the long term as well as the sustainability of its jobs”.
