Ryanair has lost a legal appeal against a ruling that dismissed its case challenging a €600m state loan guarantee provided to Finnair by the Finnish government during the Covid pandemic to help the airline survive the crisis.
The European Commission had deemed the support to be state aid and approved it under emergency measures introduced to assist EU member states during the pandemic, with the Finnish government guaranteeing 90pc of the loan obtained by Finnair from a pension fund.
Ryanair took action against the decision in June 2020, but the General Court rejected three of its four grounds challenging the ruling, resulting in Ryanair appealing the decision.
The Court of Justice has now rejected Ryanair’s appeal entirely, ordering it to cover its own legal costs and those of the European Commission. Ryanair has taken numerous similar cases in Europe related to state aid provided to airlines during the pandemic but has not always been successful in its appeals.
