The European Commission has approved €321.2 million restructuring aid to German charter airline Condor on April 28, 2025. The aid — granted by Germany — is set to allow for Condor's “return to viability”.
The restructuring measure had first been approved in July 2021, but the General Court had declared the decision invalid in May 2024. The restructuring measure included a €90 million debt write-off on a state-guaranteed €550 million public loan extended by the German development bank KfW, as well as a restructuring of the repayment conditions of the remainder of that loan, and a €20.2 million interest write-off.
The General Court claimed the Commission had not assessed whether Germany received sufficient remuneration for the debt write-offs.
“In particular, the court held that the Commission should have assessed whether Germany received sufficient upsides, which would ensure that former shareholders and subordinated debt holders sufficiently shared the burden of restructuring, to reduce the aid amount and limit competition distortions,” the EU Commission read in a statement.
The Commission subsequently launched a re-assessment into the restructuring aid in July 2024 and found that Condor is “implementing a comprehensive package of restructuring measures that will ensure its return to long-term viability”.
The European body added that Condor and its new private investor Attestor are making “significant” contributions to the cost of restructuring, funding over 70%.
“The Commission found that existing shareholders lost the entire value of their investment," the statement continued. "This means full burden-sharing is achieved, no moral hazard issues arise from the aid, and Germany has received a sufficient share in future upsides.”
Furthermore, the state aid came with “adequate safeguards” against competition concerns and ultimately ruled that Germany's state aid to Condor was in line with EU rules.