Europe's highest court has upheld a lower court's dismissal of Ryanair's attempt to overturn Danish and Swedish state aid of SEK1.5 billion kroner (USD137 million) granted to SAS Scandinavian Airlines as compensation for Covid-19-related losses.
In its judgement on September 28, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg declared Ryanair's grounds of appeal unfounded. It rejected all the arguments the low-cost carrier put forward and confirmed the judgments of the European General Court. In particular, it pointed out that the aid was limited to SAS.
"Since none of the grounds of appeal raised by the appellant has been upheld, the appeal must be dismissed in its entirety," it ruled.
Ryanair's appeal lodged on May 21, 2021, was in essence based on its conviction that the General Court had erred by dismissing the matter earlier that year finding that the aid measures complied with EU law. The General Court had found that SAS had a significantly higher market share than its closest competitor in Denmark and Sweden and was more affected by the pandemic-related restrictions, implying that the aid did not amount to unlawful discrimination.
The European Commission had approved the aid on April 15, 2020, which came in the form of a guarantee on a revolving credit facility.
Ryanair has filed more than a dozen lawsuits against the European Commission and various airlines over state aid grants emanating from European governments.
