EU Court Approves COVID-19 Aid for Condor Airlines

The European Court of Justice has upheld part of the substantial COVID-19 financial assistance provided to the airline Condor, amounting to hundreds of millions of euros from the German government. This decision comes despite objections from competitor Ryanair, which argued that the aid was unjustified.

In its ruling, the court dismissed Ryanair's claims as unfounded, stating that the benefits granted to Condor were legally justified. Ryanair contended that the financial support was not solely related to the pandemic, asserting that Condor was also facing other operational challenges that contributed to its financial distress.

The European Commission had approved three aid packages in 2021, totaling over EUR525 million, to support Condor during the pandemic. Ryanair contested one of these packages, which included loans amounting to EUR144 million intended to compensate Condor for losses incurred due to travel restrictions enforced between March and December 2020.

Ryanair maintained that the aid was discriminatory, arguing that it placed the airline at a competitive disadvantage compared to its own operations. The Irish airline presented various arguments, suggesting that the EU Commission's review process was insufficiently rigorous. However, the court found no merit in these claims.

Initially, the Commission had sanctioned a more extensive aid package for Condor, but Ryanair successfully challenged that decision in the EU Court. The latest ruling concerns a revised version of the aid package, which Ryanair again contested but without success.

In response to the ruling, Ryanair highlighted previous instances where the EU Court had ruled in its favor regarding similar cases, pointing out that the European Commission has yet to demand the return of any unlawful aid or implement measures to rectify the competitive imbalance caused by the support provided to Condor.