AGI – The situation of Alitalia compared to that of other airlines such as Air France and Lufthansa “is completely different” as “Air France and Lufthansa were healthy before Covid” and “the same is not true for Alitalia”. This was declared to the AGI by a spokesman for the European Commission regarding the alleged use of two weights and two measures in the treatment of the various dossiers on the European antitrust table.
The fact that Alitalia was in trouble even before the pandemic it prevents the Commission from approving state aid that goes beyond simply compensating for the damage caused to the airline by travel restrictions. The same is not true for companies not in crisis before the arrival of Covid-19.
“The main purpose of the interim framework is to provide targeted support to otherwise profitable companies that have gotten into financial difficulties as a result of the coronavirus outbreak,” reads a statement from the Commission. “Therefore, the companies that were already in trouble on December 31, 2019 non are eligible for aid under the temporary framework, including the recapitalization measures ”, states the EU executive.
“Alitalia is constantly at a loss and was a company in difficulty already at the end of 2019, or before the outbreak of Covid-19, and is therefore excluded from the possibility of receiving aid on the basis of the temporary framework”, established to help ‘healthy companies ‘explains the European Commission. “At the same time, the Commission approved Italian measures to compensate Alitalia for a total value of 297.15 million euros on the basis of Article 107, paragraph 2, letter b), TFUE for the damages caused directly by the restrictions adopted to contain the coronavirus epidemic ”, he points out. “The same assessment has been applied to other airlines in the same situation, including French Corsair and Portuguese Tap.” “On the contrary, Air France and Lufthansa were not companies in difficulty at the end of 2019, which is why they could be recapitalized in line with the conditions of the temporary framework ”, concludes the note.
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