Europe's largest airline group, Germany's Lufthansa, remains hopeful of an agreement on a rescue package with the German government.

Lufthansa's talks with the German government were said to have encountered concerns, according to the newspaper Der Spiegel.

But in a letter from management to staff, the company says it has had intensive and constructive discussions about financial assistance.

”"In our view, these discussions can be concluded in the near future," the management writes, adding that government support is necessary to secure the company's future.

Lufthansa has been hit hard by the corona pandemic and in April, CEO Carsten Spohr stated that the airline giant now has 3,000 passengers daily, compared to around 350,000 per day before the corona pandemic.

“We are losing about a million euros of liquidity reserves per hour. Day and night. Week after week,” Spohr said.

The company is seeking €10 billion in aid to avoid bankruptcy. According to Der Spiegel, the German government wants more than a quarter of the company's shares in exchange for the bailout, which would allow the German government to block strategic decisions.

The Social Democratic SPD, which holds the position of finance minister in the government, has warned that Berlin will make counter-demands against Lufthansa.

– The state is not an idiot who will just give money and have nothing to say about it after that, party leader Carsten Schneider tells Die Welt.

Lufthansa, on the other hand, is opposed to giving the German state influence over its operations, and has warned that if it does not receive help, it may declare itself insolvent and seek bankruptcy protection, which could mean mass layoffs. Spohr has previously said that it has about 10,000 too many employees in relation to its operations.

Source: TT