Swedish government rejects bailout for ailing SAS airline

After the Swedish government announced that it will not be injecting any new capital into Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), neighboring Denmark is considering if it will commit more money to the ailing airline.

On June 7, Sweden’s business minister Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson told a press conference that the state would not be contributing funds to the ailing airline’s restructuring plan. Instead, Thorwaldsson said he would propose to the local parliament to give the green light for converting the carrier’s existing debts into equity capital.

“We want to be clear that we will not inject new capital into SAS in the future,” Thorwaldsson was cited as saying in a report by Reuters.

SAS responded to the decision in a statement, saying: “The Swedish Government has announced they will not inject additional new capital. SAS wants to express its appreciation of the support that has been given from the Swedish State over the years.”

“During the pandemic, the state support provided was an absolute necessity for the company’s survival. Since 1946, SAS has been an important part of the Scandinavian infrastructure, connecting Sweden and Scandinavia to the world and the world to Scandinavia. This continues to be SAS’ mission for generations to come,” the statement continued.