EU clears French tax deferral for airlines hit by coronavirus
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU state aid regulators approved on Tuesday a French scheme to allow virus-hit airlines to defer certain aeronautical taxes to relieve pressure on their cash flows in a sector badly hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
The scheme will be open to airlines with an operating licence in France, allowing them to defer the payment of certain taxes due between March and December to after Jan. 1 next year, and to pay the taxes over a period of up to 24 months.
The European Commission said the scheme complied with the bloc's easier rules for virus-hit companies.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)
