The European Commission (EC) has again approved the 3.4 billion in corona support from the Dutch government for airline KLM. A European judge said two months ago that the previous European consent was insufficiently substantiated. That is why the EC has now come up with more substantiation.
Earlier, the support that sister company Air France received from the French government was not included in the EC’s decision, the judge found. The case about this was brought by Ryanair. “We have now provided more information about how the Air France-KLM group functions and the contracts for support from the Netherlands and France. We have also thoroughly analyzed the Dutch and French support measures,” said the EC. “On this basis, we find the support necessary, appropriate and proportionate.”
Support didn’t have to go back
KLM did not have to repay the support it received due to the corona crisis in any case. The European Union court already said two months ago that this step would cause too much damage to the Dutch economy and the aviation sector.
Ryanair had also filed a case against aid for the Portuguese carrier TAP. The EC also approved that support again today. It is not yet clear whether Ryanair will appeal these decisions. The airline considers the support for various European airlines unfair competition.
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