Japan to draft aid plan for aviation sector
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Japan has agreed to offer an aid package forthe aviation sector, an AFP report said.
The move came as struggling flagship carrierJapan Airlines (JAL) was reportedly considering asking for an emergency publicloan after being hit by a sharp decrease in business and holiday travellers, itsaid.
Accordingto the report, Transport Minister Kazuyoshi Kaneko had metwith executives of the industry’s Scheduled Airlines Association of Japan.
“Kaneko promised to offer a package of aid measures by theend of this fiscal year in March,'” a ministry official was quoted saying.
Airlinesassociation head, Haruka Nishimatsu, who is the JAL President, was quotedsaying; “It was not to ask for any specific items now, but the industry hasasked for a long time for reduction of landing fees. That might be one area forconsideration.”
However,the official and a JAL spokesman denied a media report that the airline wasmoving towards asking for an emergency loan from the state-backed DevelopmentBank of Japan.
The report said JAL and AllNippon Airways (ANA) were suspending or reducing flights and switching tosmaller planes in their efforts to ride out the crisis.
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