Swissair administrator warns of more cuts
The administrator of the collapsed Swissair group has warned that there could be further harsh cuts at the airline.
Karl Wüthrich said on Friday that government funds pledged to keep limited airline operations were “tight” and cutbacks were needed across the board. He did not go into detail about the nature of the cuts.
“Already it is clear that the funds promised by the Swiss confederation for the provisional continuation of Swissair’s medium and long-haul operations are tight and far-reaching cutbacks will be necessary in all areas,” Wüthrich said in a statement.
He added that this would be a priority aspect of his future decisions.
On Monday, the Swiss government announced a SFr4.23 billion ($2.57 billion) rescue package for a national airline, jointly financed by public authorities and private companies.
The new airline is to be developed around the present regional airline Crossair and the remains of Swissair.
Under the terms of the project, the government has said it would pay some SFr1 billion to allow Swissair aircraft to fly a limited long-distance schedule this winter.
In a related development, the Swiss Federal Aviation Office on Friday issued a temporary concession for Crossair to serve 29 European destinations and one non-European route previously operated by Swissair. It comes into force on Sunday.
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