The Swiss government has decided there is sufficient private capital available to mount an ambitious rescue plan for the national airline industry after the collapse of former flag carrier Swissair Group.
"The basic financing decision has been taken, but some details still need to be hammered out," a source close to the cabinet said.
Details of the package, including public and private money, were set to be announced at a news conference. The acceptance follows a weekend of frantic behind-the-scenes talks to secure several billions of Swiss francs (dollars) needed for a plan called "Operation Phoenix".
This plan sees regional airline Crossair obtaining some two-thirds of the Swissair fleet and airline operations.
Without the financing, tens of thousands of job cuts loomed at the former national icon which now employs some 70,000.
The Swiss cabinet met today to decide whether corporate Switzerland had offered enough funding to warrant a big infusion of tax payers' money.
The government has already given 450 million Swiss francs to keep Swissair flying in the short term.
The canton, or state, of Zurich has pledged 300 million Swiss francs while the cantons of Basel City and Basel country offered 31 million. The city of Zurich, the country's commercial capital, pledged up to 50 million francs.
Swissair obtained a debt moratorium on October 5th after the sharp drop in air travel since last month's suicide attacks in the US bowled over the financially frail group.
It has debts of over seven billion Swiss francs owed to various creditors such as bond holders and aircraft leasing firms as well as to international banks and trade suppliers.
Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse Group at the start of the month put some 1.5 billion Swiss francs on the table as initial finance for the airline rescue plan.