The European Union's General Court has dismissed Ryanair’s challenge against the European Commission’s approval of rescue aid for TAP Air Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic on February 5, 2025.
TAP Air was granted €1.2bn ($1.25bn) by Portugal in June 2020 to support the airline through the pandemic. The original plan was to support the airline from June to December 2020.
Ryanair challenged this decision in a complaint to the court about the aid in 2021, stating that the European Commission had not followed the proper procedure for approving it. The EU General Court had original sided in favour of Ryanair's complaint.
Then on July 16, 2021, the Commission adopted a new decision approving the aid, after finding that TAP was in fact eligible for the aid. This decision was again challenged by Ryanair, which has now been dismissed.