The EU General Court has cancelled the European Commission’s decision to approve a €321m restructuring aid package for German airline Condor in 2021.
The German Government granted Condor over €525m in illegal State Aid in 2021, including over €204m for Covid-19 related damages and over €321m for restructuring support.
The Commission approved the aid to support the airline’s restructuring and operations following challenges due to the insolvency of former owner Thomas Cook.
Ryanair challenged the decision before the court, which ruled that the Commission should have conducted a formal investigation before approving the aid.
The court highlighted the need for adequate burden sharing and questioned if the aid package met EU guidelines, emphasising the importance of fair competition in the aviation industry.
The General Court has already ruled that State aid received by other airlines, including Lufthansa, SAS and Air France-KLM, were unlawful.
A written statement from Ryanair said this is a triumph for fair competition and consumers. The European Commission’s approval of the German aid to Condor went against the fundamental principles of EU law. Today’s judgment confirms once again that the Commission must act as a guardian of the level playing field in air transport and cannot sign-off discriminatory State aid promoted by national governments. Today’s judgment further underlines the need for the European Commission to immediately act to recover these illegal state-aid packages and order remedies to restore at least some of the damage done to competition and consumers.”
