Air France KLM SA

Shares of heavily-shorted airline Air France KLM rallied as much as 10% on Thursday as early signs of easing travel restrictions lured investors to a sector heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic downturn.

Dutch airline KLM is set to launch its own holiday package deal brand in the Netherlands, as it aims to benefit from a revival of tourism once countries overcome the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Air-France-KLM warned on Thursday of more pain to come for the Franco-Dutch airline group on renewed COVID-19 lockdowns, as the fallout from the pandemic pushed it to an annual 7.1 billion euro ($8.5 billion) net loss.

Renewed COVID-19 lockdowns are pushing Air France-KLM deeper into the red, the airline group warned on Thursday, as it chalked up a 7.1 billion euro ($8.5 billion) net loss for 2020 and postponed a key mid-term profitability goal.

Air France and its pilot unions protested on Wednesday against EU demands that the airline give up takeoff and landing slots at its Paris base in return for government aid.

The Paris public prosecutor has requested that Air France and Airbus stand trial on charges of manslaughter over the 2009 crash of flight AF447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, which killed all 228 people on board, a judicial source told Reuters.

The Paris public prosecutor wants Air France and Airbus to stand trial over the 2009 crash of flight AF447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, which killed all 228 people on board, Le Parisien newspaper said on its website.

Dutch airline KLM will keep operating long haul flights, including for vaccine distribution, after agreeing with the government on softer demands for returning air crews to carry out rapid COVID-19 tests.

KLM said it would cut an additional 1,000 jobs in 2021 and warned on Thursday that government plans to require all passengers and crew to pass a COVID-19 test before flying to the Netherlands would ground its long-haul flights.

The Dutch government on Wednesday proposed the first nationwide curfew since World War Two and a ban on flights from South Africa and Britain in its toughest moves yet to limit the spread of coronavirus in the Netherlands.

KLM, the Dutch subsidiary of Air France KLM, will halt all its 270 weekly long-haul flights to the Netherlands from Friday after new COVID-19 rules were imposed by the Dutch government, a spokeswoman for the airline said.

Shares in Air France KLM and Channel Tunnel operator Getlink slumped on Monday after Britain's European neighbours began closing their doors to travellers from the United Kingdom due to new COVID-19 fears.

A Dutch court on Wednesday dismissed a demand by Greenpeace to block the 3.4 billion euros ($4.12 billion) of state aid granted to airline KLM earlier this year.

A Dutch court on Wednesday dismissed a demand by Greenpeace to block the 3.4 billion euros ($4.12 billion) of state aid granted to airline KLM earlier this year.

KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, on Friday said it would begin offering COVID-19 tested flights to Atlanta, the latest example of a European airline adopting a testing strategy to increase passenger confidence in flying amid the coronavirus pandemic.

KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, said on Friday it would begin offering a "COVID-19 tested" flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam together with Delta four times a week from Dec. 15. to increase customer confidence in flying amid the pandemic.

In cavernous cold-storage warehouses at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, KLM workers are gearing up for a surge next year in COVID-19 vaccine cargos that will need to be flown around the world at ultra-low temperatures.

Former IAG boss Willie Walsh will be nominated to succeed IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac, who is stepping down in March, the global airline body said on Monday.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Bloomberg TV he could guarantee the survival of Air France, which like many airlines around the world has been hit hard by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.