Ryanair has welcomed the May 10 ruling by the European Union General Court that the European Commission was wrong to approve the €6bn in German state aid given to Lufthansa during the Covid travel meltdown.
Ryanair in 2021 challenged handouts to Lufthansa and other carriers, including Denmark's and Swedens granting of €1bn to Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), arguing that the payments were discriminatory and anti-competitive.
The court's judgement was that the commission erred in its justifications for approval as it did not give sufficient consideration to whether Lufthansa could have raised a non-negligible amount via financial markets.
"While the Covid-19 crisis caused serious damage to all airlines, many national governments, including Germany, Sweden and Denmark, rushed through discriminatory subsidy schemes for their former flag carriers, ignoring other airlines that contribute to the economy and the connectivity of the European Union," the Irish carrier said.
An unnamed spokesman or spokeswoman for the airline, which the day before announced a $40bn order for up to 300 Boeing aircraft, said the pandemic era saw "over €40bn in discriminatory state subsidies" given to "EU flag carriers".
"Unless halted by the EU courts in line with today’s ruling, this state aid spree will distort the market for decades to come," the spokesperson said.
Lufthansa, which has repaid the German government, said it would be analysing the ruling, according to a statement given to Euronews.