Luxembourg, 19 June 2025 — The General Court of the European Union has rejected Ryanair’s attempt to overturn the European Commission’s approval of €400 million in German state-backed loans to Condor, a German charter airline, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ryanair had argued that the Commission should have launched a full formal investigation before approving the aid in July 2021. The loans, provided by Germany’s development bank KfW and backed by a state guarantee, were intended to compensate Condor for losses caused by pandemic-related travel restrictions between March and December 2020.
While the General Court acknowledged that Ryanair could challenge the procedure used—on the grounds it was denied a chance to submit comments—it ultimately dismissed the case. The Court found that the Commission had no legal obligation to open a formal probe because there were no “serious difficulties” in its initial assessment of the aid’s compatibility with EU rules.
In its ruling, the Court rejected Ryanair’s claims that:
- Condor was not eligible due to its previous financial difficulties and prior receipt of rescue and restructuring aid;
- There was no clear link between the COVID-19 travel restrictions and Condor’s losses;
- The aid may have duplicated previous support or covered costs unrelated to the pandemic;
- The Commission failed to properly verify damage estimates or cost-reduction efforts by Condor;
- The aid discriminated against other airlines, including Ryanair itself, or violated EU internal market freedoms.
The Court concluded that the Commission had relied on “plausible” assumptions, including Condor’s independent business viability and the potential investor interest in 2020, and had presented a coherent case for the aid’s necessity and proportionality.
This ruling is one of several setbacks for Ryanair in its broader campaign against what it calls discriminatory state aid during the pandemic. Ryanair has consistently argued that COVID-19 bailouts for national airlines distort competition and undermine the EU’s single aviation market.
Source: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2025-06/cp250075en.pdf
