One of Europe's top airlines is in crisis

One of Europe's top airlines is fighting for its life.

Shares in Air France-KLM () crashed as much as 14.5% on Monday after the group's CEO quit over a pay dispute and the French government said it would not intervene to help.

France's finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, told CNN affiliate BFMTV on Sunday that the labor dispute "threatens the survival of Air France."

He also said that the French government, which owns 14.3% of the Air France-KLM holding company, would not provide the carrier with a bailout, according to BFMTV.

In a statement on Friday, CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac said he would quit in mid-May after tens of thousands of French staff and pilots voted against a multi-year pay offer.

Air France said on Friday that 13 days of strikes by its staff had already cost it about €300 million ($358 million).

Air France-KLM posted a first quarter operating loss of €118 million ($141 million) last week, attributing €75 million of that loss to the strike impact.

Labor unions have scheduled more strikes, leading the French airline to warn that it would cancel about 15% of its flights on Monday.

Air France is no stranger to angry labor disputes.

Back in 2015, protesters ripped the shirts off Air France executives after the company revealed plans to cut thousands of jobs.

Apart from the French government, other big investors in Air France-KLM include Delta Air Lines () and China Eastern Airlines, which each own a stake worth 8.8%, according to FactSet data.