Ryanair to challenge six state airlines in European court on State Aid

Ryanair has appealed to European Court of Justice, challenging state aid given by their respective countries to SAS, Finnair, TAP, Air France, KLM, and Lufthansa.

The latest appeal was filed against carrier TAP for receiving €1.2 billion aid package. Portugese news outlet Lusa reported obtaining Ryanair’s confirmation of submitting all six appeals in late July 2020. Another newspaper, Público, has also reported the confirmation.

Ryanair has a history of criticism aimed at national carriers that have received state aid from their respective countries, with Irish airline’s CEO Michael O’Leary calling Lufthansa “crack cocaine junkie” for asking German government for state aid. Since then, Airline continued to constantly refer to “illegal state aid” in their public communication.

Nevertheless, the airline has obtained sizeable government loan itself, claiming that its support is transparent, as opposed to “illegal” programs that disrupt fair competition.

Back in May, according to an article published on Bloomberg, Ryanair is set to increase its cash position with an additional $726 million loan funded by the UK government through the government’s coronavirus relief program. This relief, backed by the Bank of England is available to any companies in any industry spanning from retail to construction to airlines themselves as long as a certain investment credit rating criterion is met.

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