Ryanair fails with lawsuit before EU Court of Justice

The Irish airline Ryanair has already taken action against some state aid for competitors. (archive picture)

Picture: Keystone

Ryanair has failed with a lawsuit against millions of euros in corona aid for Austrian Airlines (AUA) before the highest European court. According to the court, a loan of 150 million euros from Austria to Austrian Airlines was lawful.

Keystone-SDA

29.07.2024, 15:56•29.07.2024, 16:06

The aid was intended to compensate the Austrian airline for the damage it suffered in 2020 as a result of flight cancellations or postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ryanair had doubted that the approval was lawful and brought an action before the General Court of the European Union. This court had already dismissed the action in 2021, but the European Court of Justice (ECJ), based in Luxembourg, has now confirmed this decision.

AUA more affected than Ryanair according to the Court

An EU state can grant aid to an individual company if there are objective reasons for doing so and "damage caused by an exceptional occurrence is to be remedied". In addition, according to the EU court in Austria, AUA was much more affected by corona restrictions than Ryanair, it said.

The case is one of many in which Ryanair is taking action against state aid for competitors. So far, the Irish airline has been successful in some cases, but not in others.