Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc is seeking a state loan guarantee to pay for June expenses as it struggles with $5 million in daily losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to its chief executive officer, Abdelhamid Addou.
The loan is intended to help state-owned airline maintain its cashflow to meet financial commitments. The lockdown imposed by Morocco having closed down all flights and imposed a lockdown to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Addou adds that the airline staff should brace for further austerity measures after salary and spending cuts that helped it uphold its financial commitments in March, April and May.
“This is the worst crisis in our history,”Addou said after RAM’s traffic plunged by 60% in March and 100% in April. The company must adapt to new travel requirements and regulations caused by the pandemic, he said, adding that it could take three years to return RAM’s flight network to last year’s levels.