Scandinavian airline SAS unveiled Tuesday a plan to raise around 12 billion Swedish kronor ($1.3 billion) in new funds to deal with the impact of the coronavirus.
Supported by the three largest shareholders, including the governments of Sweden and Denmark, the aid campaign will result in a 14.25 billion kronor boost to the airline's equity as it will convert some existing bonds into equity.
SAS said it does not expect demand for travel to return to pre-COVID-19 levels before 2022.
Like many airlines, SAS has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and announced in mid-March it was temporarily laying off 90% of its workforce.
Since then, the company has announced it will be cutting 1,900 full-time positions in Sweden, 1,300 in Norway and 1,600 in Denmark, accounting for some 40% of the company's staff.
In mid-June, SAS said it needed 12.5 billion in new funding as part of its recapitalization plan, and the government of Sweden said it was ready to inject 5 billion kronor into the company.
The Danish government also announced it was willing to support the ailing airline but did not give a figure.
Shares in SAS were down more than 10% on the Stockholm stock exchange following the plan's unveiling.
