ultimately becoming unconditional government support. Minister Adelien Wijnerman wants the contributions to the airline to eventually be converted into loans that must be repaid. Wijnerman announced during a press conference yesterday that the State is currently providing SLM with approximately USD 2 million every month. At the same time, there is growing concern within the government about the company’s financial position and future.

According to the minister, the Ministry of Finance does not receive SLM’s annual reports. This makes it more difficult for the ministry to gain a complete understanding of the airline’s financial situation and how government funds are being spent. “These are the agreements we already have with SLM as the Ministry of Finance. In the past, amounts have also been provided to SLM. We do not call it a subsidy, because a subsidy does not have to be repaid,” the minister said. The issue is now the subject of consultations between the government and SLM. During Wednesday’s Council of Ministers meeting, it was decided that an urgent meeting should be held shortly to determine how the financing should be handled going forward. In any case, the support will not take the form of a conventional subsidy. “At some point, we do want those funds to be returned to Finance”, Wijnerman said.