Denmark, Norway and Sweden have agreed to pump money into the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in order to help the company overcome its financial woes.

SAS returned a 2009 loss of SEK 3.4 billion before tax and has asked for an SEK 5 billion stock increase.

Denmark owns 14.3 percent of SAS stock and will be putting DKK 525 million into the pot.

“As with the rest of the airline industry, SAS is in the midst of one of the worst crises ever. SAS has made a major effort to meet the challenges that the company is facing,” says Finance Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen in a news release.

The share issue comes in the wake of a similar issue last year of SEK 6 billion.

“SAS’ Core SAS strategy has enabled the company to move to a competitive and cost effective SAS. The company has come a long way in reaching this goal, but developments have meant that the company cannot fully reach its targets without additional capital from its owners,” says Frederiksen.

The finance minister adds, however, that employees will also have to help save the company.

“As responsible owners we have found it right to support the company’s efforts. But we cannot do it alone. So it is necessary for employees to help SAS develop a cost structure that is competitive and ensure the company a robust financial platform,” says Claus Hjort Frederiksen.