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(Reuters) – BRUSSELS, July 14 (Reuters) – Ryanair (RYA.I) lost its appeal against EU competition authorities’ approval of state assistance for Austrian Airlines on Wednesday, after Europe’s second-highest court ruled that the aid complies with EU regulations. The European Commission has been sued 16 times by Europe’s largest budget airline for allowing state aid to individual airlines. Those carriers include Austrian’s parent Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), Portugal’s TAP (TAPA.UL), and flag carriers that were aided by national schemes, in addition to Austrian. After the EU competition enforcer accepted Vienna’s decision to offer aid to Austrian Airlines in June 2020, Ryanair filed a complaint with the Luxembourg-based General Court. The General Court concluded on Wednesday that “the help offered by Austria to Austrian Airlines in order to compensate it for the harm resulting from the cancellation or rescheduling of its flights owing to the COVID-19 pandemic is compatible with the internal market.” “Because the aid was subtracted from the subsidies given to the Lufthansa group, which also includes Austrian Airlines, in the same context, it does not constitute overcompensation in favor of that group.” The EU Court of Justice (CJEU), Europe’s top court, can hear Ryanair’s case. In its challenges against subsidies handed to German charter airlines Condor, KLM, and TAP, the General Court ruled in Ryanair’s favor this year. SAS (SAS.ST), Finnair (FIA1S.HE), and Air France have all faced objections to their aid (AIRF.PA). T-677/20 Ryanair & Laudamotion v Commission is the case (Austrian Airlines; Covid-19). Foo Yun Chee contributed reporting, while Louise Heavens and Jason Neely edited the piece. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are our standards./nRead More

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