Europe's second-highest court upheld on Wednesday (19 May) Ryanair's fight against billions of euros in state aid granted to its rivals KLM and Transportes Aereos Portugueses (TAP) - rare legal victories for the Irish budget carrier in its battle against airline bailouts.
KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France, on Wednesday said it had noted a decision by a European court rejecting the 3.4 billion euro ($4.15 billion) bailout package from the Dutch government, citing a lack of reasoning by the European Commission.
An EU court on Wednesday said the European Commission failed to make its case when approving the bailouts of KLM and Portugal’s TAP, handing a rare victory to low-cost carrier Ryanair.
The bloc’s Luxembourg-based General Court ordered the EU regulator to redo its paperwork, and offer clearer arguments on why the bailouts conform with competition law.
The court “annuls the Commission’s decision to approve the Netherlands financial aid for the airline KLM amid the COVID-19 pandemic on the grounds of inadequate reasoning”, a statement said. “However, the effects of the annulment (including recovery of the aid) are suspended pending a new decision” by the EU, it added, meaning the airlines are not on the hook to pay back the subsidies for now.
Ryanair gets rare wins in EU court over state aid for KLM, TAP
By Foo Yun Chee
Reuters
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Ryanair won two victories in its fight against billions of euros extended in state aid to rivals as Europe s second-highest court annulled the support given to KLM and Portugal s TAP on the grounds that regulators failed to justify the huge cash injections.
The Luxembourg-based General Court, however, said the annulments - and the recovery of the money - would be suspended pending new decisions by the Commission.
Ryanair can challenge those new decisions at the same court if it is not satisfied with them.