Environmental NGO Greenpeace has threatened to take KLM to court over the €3.4 billion state aid to Dutch flag carrier. The NGO demands the Dutch government to use those resources to boost recovery in a sustainable way. “KLM is a major polluter,” Greenpeace stated. “The support package must be cancelled. If the government doesn’t change its plans, we will go the court.”
According to data presented by Greenpeace, KLM emits more CO2 than the largest coal-fired power station in The Netherlands. “We want the government to impose a maximum number of megatonnes of CO2 emissions on KLM each year. The airline doesn’t have a serious climate plan.”
“Reducing the airline’s CO2 footprint will be impossible, therefore the number of flights will have to be reduced considerably. Starting with the cancellation of unnecessary short-haul flights to, for example, Brussels or Paris.”
The support package is considered unfair by some critics as the state aid will mainly benefit the airline’s investors, while the Dutch taxpayers will bear the costs. KLM has received a fresh of breath air but many have pointed out that the restructuring linked to the financial package has had a social cost in the form of employees being laid off.
