European justice validates public aid to Air France and SAS airlines
Hit hard by the health crisis, Air France-KLM has already benefited from substantial public aid: more than 10 billion euros, including 7 billion in direct loans or loans guaranteed by the French State, a 14.3% shareholder .
AFP / File
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Ryanair's complaints for distortion of competition were dismissed by the Court of Justice of the European Union on Wednesday.
For the first time, the CJEU was examining the legality of a state aid scheme during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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In two separate judgments, the European courts ruled that
the measures put in place in Sweden and France to save the airlines Air France and SAS, hit by the health crisis, were
“in
conformity with Union law
”, and thus rejected the actions brought by
the Irish low cost airline Ryanair
.
The latter had taken legal action in May 2020. She denounced guaranteed loans granted by Sweden to the Scandinavian company SAS, and a postponement of taxes granted by the French state to Air France.
These aid mechanisms were validated in March 2020 by the European Commission, under temporary measures aimed at supporting the economy in the exceptional context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ryanair considered that this aid constituted a distortion of competition and a violation of principles of European law such as the prohibition of discrimination based on nationality, and the free movement of services.
It decided to appeal this decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
► To read also: Air transport: an unprecedented drop in passenger traffic in 2020
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