Ryanair lauded the recent EU General Court rulings over ‘illegal’ state aid supplied to Air France-KLM.
The €7bn Covid-19 aid granted in 2020 and €4bn in 2021 was deemed illegal.
Ryanair now wants the European Commission to order France to recover the money and ‘impose adequate remedies to repair at least some of the damage to competition done. ‘
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “The European Commission’s approval of the state aid went against the fundamental principles of EU law”.
“Today’s judgments confirm that the Commission must act as a guardian of the level playing field in air transport.”
“The EU Commission’s spineless approach to state aid allowed Member States to write open-ended cheques to their inefficient zombie flag carriers.”
Ryanair claims €40 bn in ‘discriminatory’ subsidies was gifted to EU flag carriers.
The court ruled state aid was illegal.
“Where there are grounds to fear the effects on competition of an accumulation of state aid within the same group, the onus is on the Commission to exercise particular vigilance,” the court said.
“The court’s intervention is a triumph for fair competition and consumers across the EU,” Ryanair added.
