- The European Union’s Court of Justice has dismissed Lufthansa’s appeal.
- The ruling concerns €6bn in COVID state aid.
- The General Court annulled the European Commission’s approval.
- Ryanair has welcomed the final judgment.
- Germany faces a call to recover approximately €200m in benefits.
The European Union’s Court of Justice has dismissed Lufthansa’s appeal against the annulment of EU approval for state aid received during the COVID pandemic.
The ruling upholds the General Court decision that struck down the European Commission’s clearance of the airline’s recapitalisation. Ryanair welcomed the final judgment.
Lufthansa received €6bn in state aid from the German government. Ryanair has called on Germany to recover approximately €200m in benefits including interest. The European Commission approved the aid initially but the courts ruled it illegal.
Ryanair stated that the aid distorted competition while efficient airlines operated without subsidies.
Ryanair shared “Today’s CJEU judgment again confirms what was obvious from the start: Germany’s €6bn Covid bailout of Lufthansa was illegal State Aid that distorted competition. While efficient airlines (like Ryanair and others) were forced to survive through Covid on their own resources, Lufthansa was handed a €6bn benefit by the German Govt which once again rewarded German inefficiency, damaged competition and hurt consumers.”
Ryanair shared “The German air transport market continues to fail to recover its pre-Covid traffic due to a combination of high access costs, penal Govt taxes and an uneven playing field in which non-subsidised airlines are asked to compete with the heavily state subsidised Lufthansa. It is time for the European Commission and Germany stop stonewalling and start complying with their EU law obligations and recover the €200m benefits of this illegal State Aid directly from Lufthansa without further delay.”
