Government not keen on takeover of airlines

MANILA, Philippines — The government is ready to provide financial assistance to the pandemic-stricken airline companies, but clarified that it does not want to end up taking over their operations, the head of the Department of Finance said.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the government has been in discussions with airline companies since travel restrictions were implemented in mid-March to contain the spread of COVID-19.

“They have prepared at least four or five plans for their finances and the reason they say is that  the situation is changing so quickly so they have to keep on revising their plans,” he said.

The finance chief said the government is ready to provide financial assistance to the airlines  to keep them afloat following the losses they suffered due to the pandemic.

“But let me point out that whatever assistance we have or we are going to provide will be part only of the entire process. The private sector banks have to cough up the majority of their assistance,” Dominguez said, adding that “we will rely on the participation of private banks, and we will support their efforts to revive the industry.”

“I’d like to point out that the government does not want to end up owning the airlines,” he said.

“We welcome and appreciate any form of assistance from the government. We have been working on reshaping our business so we may ensure we are able to keep the business sustainable,” Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and customer experience  Candice Iyog said in response to Dominguez’s statement.

Philippine Airlines, for its part, said it welcomes any form of assistance from the government as it carries out its own restructuring initiatives to ensure the company’s continued survival.

Philippine carriers have been reeling from the impact of the  pandemic, which caused various levels of travel restrictions since mid-March. Local carriers such as Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines have laid off thousands of workers since then.

Dominguez earlier said the government was studying various approaches to help the aviation sector recover from the damage brought about by the pandemic.