Ryanair and Aer Lingus have won a legal battle with the European Commission which had ordered them to pay the Irish government a total of €16 million in air tax.
The European Commission ruled in 2012 that the two carriers had benefited from illegal state aid because they paid a lower tax of just €2 per passenger for domestic flights taken between 2009 and 2011.
Ryanair had been ordered to pay €12 million and Aer Lingus was due a bill of €4 million, plus interest.
However, the EU General Court in Luxembourg has overturned the EC ruling, saying that the Commission’s argument that the airlines should pay a further €8 per passenger was flawed.
It said: "The Commission could not consider that the advantage enjoyed by the airlines automatically amounted, in all cases, to €8 per passenger."
A third Irish carrier, Aer Arann, will also benefit from the General Court’s decision.
In a statement, Ryanair said: "We welcome today’s ruling which confirms that Ryanair is not required to pay the Irish State approximately €12m in respect of the Air Travel Tax paid at a lower (€2) rate between 2009 and 2011."
The Irish Government changed its air tax to a flat rate for all flights, domestic and international, in 2011 following the EC investigation and the tax was abolished completely last April.
