State aid for Austrian Airlines (AUA) being negotiated in Vienna. AUA needs €767m due to the complete slump in the travel business due to the coronavirus crisis. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz made it clear from the outset that such a large injection of public funds would require concrete assurances that it would save jobs. Otherwise, he said, Austria would not support the subsidiary of a German-owned company (Lufthansa).
Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr flew into Vienna to negotiate directly with the top Austrian officials, including Kurz and Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler. The Austrians made it clear they would also require a clear commitment to AUA’s long-term future as well as the Vienna location. Spohr is on a fundraising roadshow to drum up state support for his company and its holdings. As well as asking the German government for state aid for Lufthansa, Spohr also traveled to Switzerland to negotiate aid for its other subsidiary, Swiss.
