PARIS (Reuters) – Air France KLM Chief Executive Ben Smith was quoted on Saturday as saying that voluntary redundancies would be part of the airline’s initial cost-cutting plans, and that costs at its ‘HOP’ arm were not viable as things stood.

Smith made his remarks in an interview with Les Echos newspaper just hours after Air France KLM secured 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) in French government aid, as the airline industry struggles to survive the coronavirus crisis that has all but halted passenger traffic across much of the world.

Smith also told Les Echos that it could take two years, or possibly “even a bit longer”, before things returned to normal in the aviation and airline industry.