THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The Netherlands will do "everything it takes" to keep Air France-KLM (PA:AIRF) and Amsterdam's Schiphol airport operating in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, Dutch Finance Minister Wobke Hoekstra said on Sunday.
Hoekstra's comments came after KLM, the Dutch arm of carrier Air France KLM, announced on Friday a package of emergency measures. The airline said it would cut up to 2,000 jobs, trim spending by as much as 400 million euros (362.08 million pounds) and scrap at least 40% of flights in coming months.
Hoekstra would not give any details about a possible bail out but stressed that Air France-KLM was "vital for the Dutch economy" and said he was in close contact with his French colleagues and the airline's management.
A French Finance Ministry official said on Saturday that the French government was not yet considering a capital injection for Air France-KLM (PA:AIRF) to help it weather falling revenues.
Tens of thousands of holidays were cancelled by major Dutch travel agencies as countries imposed restrictions on flights in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Hoekstra stressed that the Dutch government would not only back the hard-hit aviation sector but also other companies dealing with the fall-out of the corona crisis.
"We will take measures to address their liquidity problems," he said.
The Dutch floricultural industry, which employs 150,000 people, said on Sunday it had been extremely hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak which had halved prices and left it with a lot of unsold, perishable products. Around 35 percent of global flower and plant exports, worth 6.2 billion euros, pass through the Netherlands.
"Without emergency credits from the government or banks many companies will go bankrupt within a few weeks," Royal FloraHolland said in a statement.
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the Netherlands rose by 176 to 1,135 on Sunday, with 20 deaths, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said.