State guarantee for Czech carrier Smartwings conditioned on name change, job retention

The Czech state is set to provide the carrier Smartwings a loan guarantee of up to 900 million crowns provided it changes its name to Czech Airlines, retain 2,500 employees and not pay dividends for ten years.

Minister of Transport Karel Havlíček announced the conditions on Saturday following talks with President Miloš Zeman and his team of experts.

The airline’s management warned Smartwings could collapse without state aid due to massive losses stemming from travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.