KLM pays back last of Dutch government pandemic loans

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch flag carrier KLM says it is repaying the last portion of loans it got from the Netherlands government and banks to help it survive when the COVID-19 pandemic threw global aviation into a tailspin. The carrier is paying back 277 million euros ($290 million) to the government, the last outstanding loan out of a total of 942 million it borrowed from a credit facility worth 3.4 billion euros. KLM earlier this year paid back the rest of the loans to banks. The announcement Thursday came a before day CEO Pieter Elbers is to be replaced by Marjan Rintel and against a backdrop of weeks of heavy congestion and canceled flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.