Spain Says EU Airline Response Would Avoid Competition Issues

The Spanish government is pushing for a European-wide response to shore up the airline industry so that carriers face a “level playing field,” according to the country’s economy minister.

“All these large carriers are not one nationality or another, they are European carriers. And that’s why we are strongly defending that we would provide a level playing field and, with different sorts of support, provide a similar level of funding and similar level of credibility and strength to the different operators so that we do not create competition problems at the end of the day,” Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said during an interview on Bloomberg TV. Different carriers entered into the crisis in disparate financial situations, some with stronger balance sheets than others, and therefore might require different levels of support, she added.

Two Spanish units of IAG SA on May 1 announced that they were tapping 1 billion euros in state-backed bank loans to bolster their liquidity.

“The European Commission is keeping a very close eye to make sure there is no breach of the competition rules and that we don’t end up with a very unlevel playing field because of the different capacity of government to support the different airlines. They are all hit in the same manner. We should provide a European response.”