Cyprus Airways will hear by April at the latest whether they will get an urgently needed cash injection guaranteed by the government, officials said on Thursday.

The Cypriot government has sought European Commission approval to guarantee a EUR50 million (USD$66.9 million) loan sought by the carrier, troubled by heavy losses and cheaper competition.

"We expect to hear from them either late this month or in early April," Communications Minister Haris Thrassou told the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.

Cyprus Airways was hit by record losses in 2004, hit by competition from cheaper rivals, soaring fuel prices and the repayment costs of a new fleet.

"The government has put in two bids to the European Commission, one is the rescue aid for EUR50 million, which is a priority, and the second is for restructuring aid," a Cyprus Airways source said.

The restructuring aid also amounts to EUR50 million, the source said.

The government, which owns 65 percent of Cyprus Airways, is likely to pull out all the stops to bail the carrier out. Last week it appointed a technocrat and a senior economist to the airline's board to shake up its finances.

The airline's management plans to cut about 10 percent of its 2,000 staff, spin off divisions and scrap loss-making routes to make the company profitable again.

But complications in its implementation led last week to the resignation of the rescue plan's chief architect, banker Constantinos Loizides.