Sweden, Belgium Win EU Approval to Support Airlines, Airports

The European Commission approved measures from Belgium and Sweden to help the airline industry as it struggles to weather the economic fallout from the coronavirus.

It gave antitrust clearance to Sweden’s 455 million euro ($497 million) loan-guarantee scheme to support airlines that hold the nation’s commercial aviation license at least as of Jan. 1. It also welcomed a Belgian plan to defer payment of concession fees by airports in the Walloon region.

“The coronavirus outbreak is having an unprecedented impact on the aviation sector in Europe and worldwide,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust chief, said in a statement. The loan guarantee “aims at providing airlines operating in Sweden with liquidity in these difficult times.”

Earlier, the EU approved a 50 billion-euro Belgian loan-support plan for companies.