Britain continuing talks over support for airlines - pilots union

LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - Britain is continuing talks
with the aviation industry about how best to support the sector
and reports that the government will not provide financial
backing for airlines are misleading, the British Airline Pilots
Association (BALPA) said on Wednesday.

A person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday that
Britain had told airlines that state investment to help them
survive the coronavirus crisis will only be considered once they
have looked at the possibility of raising capital from existing
investors.

BALPA said that discussions about unique measures for
individual airlines were ongoing and called on the government to
protect jobs in the sector.

"It is unhelpful that correspondence is leaked out of the
context of discussions. It gives rise to the erroneous
conclusion that there is no chance of any government help for UK
airlines. I've said before that there is no 'one size fits all'
solution," BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said.

"The government will be looking at areas such as the
airline's financial state, whether it could raise the cash in
other ways, or if it's crucial to the UK transport system. These
deliberations still are ongoing so we should await the
outcomes."

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Kate Holton)