Fin. Min.: Government not buying Air France KLM shares

The government of the Netherlands does not plan to buy any shares from airline Air France-KLM. Employers’ organization VNO-NCW has called on the cabinet to take a stake in the airline and as Minister of Finance Dijsselbloem points out, there has been no request for additional capital. “The Dutch government is not going to move now” the minister was reported saying by RTL Z. The minister also thinks that the problems at Air France-KLM will not be resolved if the Netherlands takes an interest in the company. Minister Dijjsselbloem also highlighted that the company’s main problem was competitiveness and that cutting long distance connections would not be the right thing to do. The NVO-CNW has raised its concerns over the possibility of the airline cutting back on direct flight to Schiphol which, they say, would make the Netherlands a less attractive location for large companies. In response minister Dijsselbloem said “The strategic importance of KLM is evident, so it would be followed closely.”, reported RTL Nieuws.