The biggest Czech airline may not be on the list of European carriers that gets a handout from its government. Smartwings, which also owns the Czech flagship airline ČSA, has suffered heavy losses due to the coronavirus pandemic and the collapse of international travel. It refused the idea of the state taking a share in the company, letting it be known that it preferred a loan guarantee worth CZK 900m. But the Ministry of Finance Alena Schillerová said the idea may never get off the ground. “As I’m watching developments, I don’t think any support for Smartwings is up for discussion,” she said, adding that it would be difficult to support the idea in parliament and that she’d never supported the idea. Smartwings, which is owned by two Czech business moguls together with a Chinese conglomerate, didn’t have the strongest counterargument. “If the Czech government decides not to help a Czech airline, it will be choosing a completely different approach than the other EU states,” said spokeswoman Vladimíra Dufková.
